


Kin

by JoeyTaylor



Series: Ennead [5]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Bullying, Concequences, Duel Club, Dungeon Dice Monsters, Fem!Ryou, Fire, Gen, Genderbend, Genderswap, History, Hospital, Medical, Meisa, Mental Anguish, Physical Abuse, Violence, Whump, but covering bases with warning, ddm, ennead, fem!Bakura, fem!Yugi, not massive amounts of blood, oneesan, suicidal thoughts warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 83,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21689707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoeyTaylor/pseuds/JoeyTaylor
Summary: After surviving Duelist Kingdom, Yugi is looking forward to getting back to normality. Well, what passes for normal when you're the one who completed the Millennium Puzzle, one of your friends is the host for the spirit whose rampage ended your elder twin's reign back in Egypt and old adversaries of your grandfather have moved into town.
Series: Ennead [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/819942
Comments: 99
Kudos: 84





	1. Requests

_'Imoto.'_ Yugi mentally grumbled at the sound of her twin's voice calling her and the sensation of a spectral hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. _'Imoto.'_

 _'Five more minutes, Anesan,'_ she mumbled back, too tired between recovering from Duelist Kingdom and trying to run the shop around school hours, to wonder why she was being woken.

_'Imoto, your teacher…'_

"Mutou Yugi!" Yugi jumped a mile as her English teacher snapped out her name and slammed a hand onto her desk next to her head. She sat up rather too quickly, making her head spin slightly, and looked up as the teacher asked, "Am I boring…?" The woman paused and looked at her properly. "Mutou, are you quite alright?"

"I…" Yugi was about to lie and say she felt fine when a gentle mental poke from the Spirit of the Puzzle reminded her that she would get into trouble if she did so. Still, she could not tell the full truth. People would not believe her if she told them she was exhausted from nearly dying during a magical duel to recover the souls of her friends and family. "I got ill at Duelist Kingdom, and I'm still recovering. Sorry."

The teacher paused to consider her as the girl pushed the ponytail of black hair that faded to red at the tips back over the shoulder it had fallen over during her nap. The official story was that the Japanese National Champion, Insector Haga, had dropped out of Duelist Kingdom due to a sudden illness, so as far as the teacher knew, it was possible that Yugi had caught something while she had been there. Still…

"Just try to stay awake, Mutou." The teacher sighed. "Your grades aren't high enough that you can afford to skip school, World Champion gamer or not." Yugi winced at the jab about her recent test scores. "If you fall asleep again, I'll be keeping you behind to catch up."

"Yes, Sensei." Yugi nodded her understanding, noting the sympathetic looks on the faces of most of her friends and the amused smirk on the last as she sat up straight, not wanting to miss being home when her grandfather got home from the hospital.

As the teacher stalked back towards the front of the class, Yugi glanced towards Bakura Amane, whose long white hair was unusually messy, so she was half-convinced that it was not actually her friend in control. She was not wrong. The Thief Queen, Ba-Khu-Ra, whose sharp red eyes were trained on her, gave her a vindictive smirk. She caught a glimpse of the Millennium Ring glowing dimly before it cut out and her actual friend gave her an apologetic look, sympathy and frustration in her brown eyes as her white hair settled back into its normal tidy style.

The Puzzle bearer sighed, tucked a few strands of her blonde fringe behind her ear, and shrugged. The actions of the Spirit of the Ring were not Amane's fault. A lot of information about the past had been thrown around while they had been on the island, and there was a lot they needed to talk to the Thief Queen about. Considering that Ba-Khu-Ra had been rather nasty since they had gotten back, Yugi was half afraid that something had been said or done to make the whole situation between Oneesan and Ba-Khu-Ra worse.

"As I was saying," the teacher huffed as she retook her place at the front of the class, "as of this term your grades will decide your future, so those of you who failed to attain the grades I know you're capable of had better start taking a serious look at yourselves and your studies. You won't be able to take the paths you want if you don't get the right grades."

 _'The scores she's sniping at you about aren't a fair representation of your knowledge. If you hadn't been so stressed, you would have done much better,'_ her darker twin grumbled irritably over their bond. _'If they were being fair, they would let you re-sit.'_

Yugi could not bring herself to disagree with the Pharaoh as she leaned back in her chair. The last batch of exams had been while her Ojiisan's soul had been sealed away by Pegasus J. Crawford, the CEO of Industrial Illusions. Despite the fact her only living relative had been in a coma, which was a fully justified reason for her scores being awful, they would not let her re-sit the exams. Instead she had to put up with comments like that until she had a chance to make up the grades in classwork and future tests.

Still, it was only another few minutes until the bell rang for school's end, and then she could pick up her game and replacement Gameboy, and then head home. She had been opening the shop every evening after school, but it was not reopening till Monday morning so her Ojiisan could get his Doctor-ordered rest. She was planning to enjoy the weekend off and spend it sleeping and gaming. After she had seen her Ojiisan was home safely, of course.

"For your homework, I expect a two-thousand-word essay on your dreams for the future and your plan to get there." As the teacher started making notes on the board, several students shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to answer the question. "I want to know what job you're aiming for and how you're planning to achieve it. I want to see where you have seriously considered your options. This is due in at the end of the month, so you have plenty of ti…"

The ringing bell cut off the teacher, and those who were not on classroom duty started rising to their feet. Yugi stood more quickly than was wise and felt herself sway, forcing her to grab onto the edge of her desk.

A hand on her back gave her something physical to lean on, and the spectral hands on her shoulders gave her something to support her mentally as her two closest friends tried to help her.

"Sorry…" she whispered as she closed her eyes briefly, trying to stop her world from spinning.

"Don't apologise." One of her best friends, a huge blonde by the name of Jonouchi Katsuya, sounded worried as he helped her sit. She opened her eyes to find the boy was watching her with concern.

 _'Jou's right, Imoto. You're allowed to be tired,'_ the Spirit of the Puzzle added as Bakura watched from a distance, worried but not getting close enough for the Ring Spirit to be a threat.

Yugi was not entirely sure her twin was correct. While she understood that she had not really rested properly since her return from Duelist Kingdom, she still felt like she was letting her Ojiisan and her friends down by still being so weak almost a week since the title match against Pegasus. She was certain her friends were probably fed up of her constant exhaustion by now.

Jonouchi was worried, not frustrated, though. He still remembered the feel of his friend's dying soul in his arms. How it had felt like he had been holding nothing at all when he had first scooped up her lifeless form to protect her. How slowly, as she had returned to them, there had been more weight and substance in the load he had borne, until she had been breathing evenly once more and was solid enough that he had no longer feared her fading away into the darkness forever.

He would more than happily help her through this weakness if it meant a full recovery, and he knew the others felt the same way.

As the class emptied and their other friends came over, he gave them all a worried nod. Honda Hiroto, a bulky brunette teen whose hair came to a point at the front of his head, just nodded back, a fixed look on his face that Jonouchi just knew was him trying to hide his concern. Mazaki Anzu, on the other hand, ran a hand through her shoulder-length mousy brown hair, apprehension apparent in her features.

"Yugi…" Anzu started, trailing off as the girl in question pushed herself to her feet more slowly this time and showed a sheepish smile to them all, including Amane, who gave her a slightly worried smile back.

"I'm okay. Kind of looking forward to this weekend," their friend replied to the unasked question as she shrugged on her backpack, her own gaze turning concerned as she looked at Anzu. "What about you?"

Anzu paused at the question. If she was honest, she did not really know how she felt. Things still felt like the world had tilted sideways a bit, and when she closed her eyes, she sometimes still heard the whispers of the Shadows in her ears. However, Oneesan had promised that would fade with time: The longer she spent out of the Shadows, the quieter and quieter those voices would get. She trusted the Pharaoh to know. After all, the Spirit of the Puzzle had suffered much longer than she and still managed to regain her sanity. Mostly.

"Better than yesterday." She decided on her reply. It was not a lie, and when the sheepish smile of her friend turned bright and happy, she considered it to be the right one. "Jii-san's home today, right?"

"Yeap." There was more of the usual bounce in Yugi's step as she headed for the door. "The doctors are finally done with the tests and are letting him out."

No one was entirely sure what the hospital had been testing for, or why they had insisted on keeping her grandfather in so long. Yugi's friends were half convinced it was because Kaiba Corp was footing the bill as a part of the brothers' repayment of what they owed Yugi, and the hospital wanted to make as much money as possible. Yugi, however, was pretty sure it was because her Jii-san, who had a pacemaker keeping his heart steady, had been comatose for no reason they could find. There was no way to test for a missing soul using modern medical science, after all. Because of that she had not begrudged the hospital the extra time, but she could not wait to see him.

"I just can't believe he arranged the meeting with Okaasan for tomorrow." Jou frowned, concerned for the man who had taken him in and not looking forward to seeing his mother. "You'd have thought he would want to rest."

"The Industrial Illusions check cleared a couple of days ago." Yugi shook her head with a slight grimace, trying not to think about how weird it had been to have her bank account suddenly jump up by three million yen overnight on Wednesday. "He wants to get this settled as quickly as possible, and so do I."

Jou nodded, grateful to her beyond words for being willing to surrender the prize money to help his little sister.

"The sooner we talk to your Okaasan and pay the doctors, the sooner they can help Shizuka, right?" Yugi asked him with a grin.

A group of senior students passed them, cutting off any reply. Yugi opened her mouth to say something else, only to get stopped by a trio of juniors stepping in front of them, two boys and a girl that Yugi recognised as "Eiko-chan?"

The girl in question nodded, pushing a strand of her long black hair over her shoulder as she grinned, green eyes dancing in her delight that Yugi remembered her. "Started Domino High this year. I'm a first year."

Anzu paused, trying to remember where she knew the girl from, then smiled as she asked, "Daisuki Eiko? You were in hospital with Yugi, right?"

Yugi flinched as a memory of why she had been in hospital hit her. Her Anesan stepped in, pushing back at the flashback of their kidnap and torture at the hands of Hirutani and his gang of thugs back during the early days of the Puzzle's completion. Once she could feel the tension in her twin's mind ease and her focus improve, she sent reassurance and strength and felt the Puzzle bearer send gratitude back.

"Yeah." The younger student nodded as she pulled something out of her bag and handed it to its former owner. "Yugi-sempai… I'd… we'd like to ask you a favour."

Yugi looked up from the completed rubix cube with a questioning look, surprised that Eiko had remembered it.

"We want to start a Duel Club at Domino High," one of the boys spoke up, looking hopeful, "but we've been told that we need an older student to act as club captain."

"We have a teacher backing us, Yamada-sensei. He's our form tutor," the other boy added, the pair of almost identical twins giving her the same almost pleading expression, "but he will only let us form an official club if we can get a club president who is good enough to convince the Headteacher the club isn't a waste of time, and well…"

"You're the Queen of Games," Eiko stated with a slight bow, the two boys following in her actions. "If you're not good enough, no one is."

Yugi paused to consider the suggestion. She had a lot on her plate after school as it was with the Kame Game Shop, but at the same time she had no clubs on her school records. She was fully aware that universities looked at students who could do extracurricular activities before they looked at anyone else because it showed a dedication to their work and their community. Plus if she was in a position of responsibility, it added towards her character reference. If she wanted to study after high school, and she was not yet sure she did, it would look good on her record to have been president of a school club.

That and she really did enjoy duelling.

"How many want to join?" the Queen of Games asked thoughtfully.

"Ten so far," the petitioner responded quickly as she passed the other duellist a folder. "Eight boys, two girls, including myself. All at various levels of skill."

Yugi flipped through quickly and recognized some of the kids in her year or higher, while others were new faces to her. She was impressed that the file had deck lists, grades, and other details for each student. She could not help but wonder if this was a copy of the file Eiko had petitioned the teacher with.

 _'Imoto, if I can make a suggestion? Perhaps it would be a good idea to discuss options with Ojiisan before we make a final call,'_ the Spirit of the Puzzle offered as Yugi turned over the idea in her head.

"Please, Mutou-san," one of the boys, the first one who had spoken, almost begged. "Other schools have Duel Clubs starting. It would be a shame for Domino High not to have one."

"And who are you?" Jou asked, moving so he was right next to Yugi on her right side, while Honda shifted around slightly to cover the girls from the left, in case the boys got aggressive if Yugi said no.

"I'm Kobayashi Koichi and this is Kobayashi Koji," the second answered, gesturing to them each in turn. "And our Imoto-chan, Maru, is the other girl who wants to be in the club."

"When do you need an answer by?" the Magician Duelist interrupted, looking at the trio of petitioners.

"End of school Monday," Eiko replied, biting her lower lip slightly, suddenly nervous that Yugi would not help them.

"Let me talk to my Jii-san over the weekend, and I'll have an answer for you Monday morning," Yugi decided. When she saw the dejected looks on the younger students' faces, she added, "I help run my family business after school, so I need to work out with Jii-san if he can spare me for an extra hour a day on meeting days."

"That's… fair," Eiko agreed with a sigh. "Sorry, Yugi-sempai. I forgot you might have the shop to worry about. The teacher said to be an official club we would need to meet at least three times a week. We've worked out the best days for everyone who wants to join are Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."

The Queen of Games paused to think. "Mondays and Thursdays should be fine, but Saturdays might be a stretch because it's our busy day. I promise I'll have an answer for you Monday morning on whether it's possible."

She went to hand back the folder, but Eiko shook her head. "Keep it, so if you can help us you can see who you're going to be working with." She then turned to Jou and the others. "You're all welcome to join, too. The more, the merrier."

"It would be cool to have a quarter finalist in the club, too." Koji smiled at Jou, nodding respectfully.

"And there goes his ego." Honda's quiet grumble under his breath went unheard by the one it was about, thankfully, but Anzu quietly chuckled, having heard it.

"See you Monday, Mutou-san." Koichi bowed to Yugi and herded his brother and friend away, leaving Yugi with a lot to digest.

As the trio of first years fled and Yugi considered the folder in her hands, Anzu nudged her friend gently. "Yugi?"

"Hmm? Oh. Just thinking. It might be fun to start a Duel Club, but I have other commitments, too." The girl in question shrugged and started heading for the lockers. "And homework."

"Speaking of homework," Honda grimaced, "a two-thousand-word essay? Seriously. I swear the English teacher is evil."

"I don't even know two thousand English words," Jonouchi groaned.

"That's what our Japanese to English dictionary is for," Anzu tutted at him, though her grin made a lie of her irritated tone. "Besides, we have plenty of time as long as you don't leave it to the last moment."

"Like the math homework he copied off Yugi this morning?" Honda asked, teasing the other boy in their group. Yugi half-grimaced at the mention of it. She had not been awake last night to do her homework, so her Anesan had done it for her. That meant she was not one hundred percent sure how accurate the answers had been.

"I can help," Amane spoke up. "English is my first language, after all."

"Oh yeah!" Jou grinned, concern lifting as he pulled his shoes out of his locker. "You grew up over there."

"Yup, I'm half-English." Amane nodded, happy that she could help her friends with this, like they were helping her when she struggled in their Japanese classes. "I won't do all your translation for you, but if you need a word or two, or can't work out how to phrase a sentence, I'm happy to assist."

 _'Do we have to?'_ The Ring bearer paused in putting her outdoor shoes on as the spirit of her item grumbled.

The night they had gotten back from Duelist Kingdom, Ba-Khu-Ra had shown Amane what she had missed during the Shadow Game between the spirits of the Ring and the Eye. If what he had said was true, the Ring bearer could not blame the Thief Queen for her hatred of the Pharaoh. However, she could not help but think that Yugi was not responsible for the crimes of her past self, since she had not existed as a person back then.

Plus Amane was not entirely sure the man had been telling the truth. He could have told the Pharaoh an entirely different story and laid the entire blame for Egypt on Ba-Khu-Ra and by extension her. They could not know without talking to the Mutou twins, but the Thief Queen did not want to. She was too angry about what she had been told to even consider listening.

 _'I don't want my friends to fail class. Evil or not, if Yugi's held back a year, you can't keep an eye on her,'_ Amane tried, appealing to the Thief Queen's desires to keep the Pharaoh close until she had acquired all the other Millennium Items.

 _'Fine. But I want an extra night out.'_ Amane hesitated at that. The Thief Queen already went out three nights a week, and while she did not know what the spirit was up to on those nights, there was always more in both her bank account and the horde locked away in a magically sealed chest in her basement. Considering the title of the spirit of the Ring, she could guess where the extra cash was coming from, but at the same time, with no adults in her house to bring in an income, she had never said anything.

 _'One night per night I have the others over, but you can't take over until I've finished my time-critical homework.'_ Amane tried to bargain as she stepped out of the school building and leaned on the door frame while she waited for the others.

 _'I'll wait till you've finished your homework, but in exchange I want a weekend. A whole weekend. Daytime included. Starting when you finish your homework on Saturday and right through till school starts on Monday,'_ the Thief Queen demanded.

 _'Deal.'_ The Ring bearer could feel the Ring Spirit's surprise at her acceptance of the terms _. 'Just give me advance warning on which weekend, so I don't make plans.'_

 _'That's… fair,'_ Ba-Khu-Ra agreed slowly. _'You've never wanted me to have a weekend before. Why now?'_

 _'Because Duelist Kingdom sucked and I know you need to blow off steam.'_ Her host sighed as the others joined her outside. _'I know now I can trust you to be relatively sensible and not get me horribly injured.'_

There was a moment of surprise and a subtle relief, and then the spirit of the Ring backed off with a simple _'Thank you…'_

"Amane?" Yugi asked, giving her a worried look.

"It's fine." She waved the Puzzle bearer off with a smile. "I was just talking to Voice. That's all."

"How is she?" The Ring bearer considered the question. From anyone else she would have suspected an ulterior motive, but with Yugi she was pretty sure it was just an honest question.

"About as okay as can be expected," the Dungeon Master told the Duelist, who sighed.

"If she feels like talking about Duelist Kingdom, Anesan and I… ack!" Yugi cut off in a yelp as suddenly the Thief Queen seized control, grabbed her collar, and slammed her against the corner of the wall of the school hard enough it dug into her back.

"I don't want to talk to you. I don't ever want to talk to you. Or your 'twin', got it? I am going to destroy you both," the Thief Queen snarled out, releasing the girl's collar the moment the Pharaoh emerged from the Puzzle and glared at her.

"I don't know what Akhenaden told you, but according to what he told ME, I should be the one pissed at you," Oneesan snapped back, fuming about the pain she could feel as she stepped forward. "We NEED to talk this out and work out whether the stories match up before we both let it twist us any further than it already has."

"Like I could trust you to share the truth," the spirit of the Ring snarled out. "You don't even remember your own damn name! How can I trust you to remember anything important?"

"I'm not going to lie to you," Oneesan hissed back, the jab about her name hitting hard, "and I don't remember my name because you went nuts in Egypt and I had to give it up!"

"I went nuts because you stabbed me in the back! It was your fault!" Bakura snapped, shoving Oneesan hard enough that she hit the wall again before beginning to weave the magic needed for a Challenge.

 _'Ba-Khu-Ra! Please don't!'_ Amane's mental yelp made her hesitate.

 _'Why shouldn't I?'_ the Thief hissed over the bond to her light, who she could feel was scrambling for an answer that was not 'because they're my friends.'

 _'Because you still need her.'_ The Thief Queen scowled but pulled up at her light's final response, and before anyone could say anything else, Shadows rose around her and she disappeared without a trace.

The hands of the spirit of the Puzzle balled into fists for a moment, then she took a deep breath as her younger twin sent worry, reassurance, and comfort, and retreated to her item.

Jou gave Yugi a worried look. "You okay?"

She shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain that spiked in her back where she had hit the wall. "I've had worse. We really need to learn that trick, though. It would make getting to school so much easier."

The comment made her friends laugh, which had been Yugi's aim, and helped the girl relax a little. She had not expected Ba-Khu-Ra to lash out like that. Whatever the spirit of the Eye had told her had clearly struck a nerve, and Oneesan's reaction to the fury had not helped matters.

"You alright picking up your game alone?" Jou asked Yugi as they headed towards the gates and Anzu and Honda headed off, Anzu to dance class and Honda shopping for his family.

"Go to work." Yugi waved him off, knowing that even with support from the Mutous, he needed his job to be able to afford school. "The store is two blocks over, and then I'll get a bus home. I'll be home in an hour, tops."

"Alright, see you later." He headed off, giving her one last concerned look over his shoulder.

Yugi sighed and shook her head, wondering when her friends had decided she could not handle a simple shopping trip on her own, and then headed for the store.


	2. Friend or Foe?

As Yugi turned onto the main high street, the sight of the newest game store in Domino made her let out an unhappy sigh. It was impossible to miss the Black Crown. The shop had moved into a building in the busiest part of the business district, where foot traffic was the highest. The rent on small shop fronts around here was ridiculously high, but somehow they had managed to take over an entire multi-storey building.

Their name was plastered over their front door in giant letters, and their logo seemed to be a rather intimidating clown with a black face. Considering their logo was a clown, not a crown, Yugi could not help but wonder if someone had gotten the sign wrong and it was meant to be the 'Black Clown' gaming store but the owners had just run with it.

Their grand opening, which had happened the week before Duelist Kingdom, had been the reason the Queen of Games had started opening the Kame Game Store after school. The bigger store could afford lower prices than they could and could hold both a greater amount and wider range of stock than her tiny store could. It was inevitable that if she did not try to stay open despite her grandfather's soul being stolen, they would lose customers to the larger chain store.

As it was, she was horribly aware that sales had been down anyway. The Kame Game Store just could not compete with the Black Crown when it was closed seventy percent of the day, but there was nothing she could do about it. She legally had to go to school, and even if she did not, Jii-san would have her head if she skipped, even if it was to try and help the family business.

_'You're doing the best you can, Imoto. You're still making sales, aren't you?'_ Yugi let out a quiet sigh as reassurance bounced down the bond from her other self. _'And Jii-san can't be too worried if he's keeping the store closed this weekend.'_

_'We're closed because he's been told by the doctors to rest after being let out, not because he wants to, Anesan,'_ Yugi countered. _'They think he still needs sleep or something.'_

Oneesan did not call her twin on it, but she was honestly of the opinion that the store's closing was not just for their grandfather. She knew the elderly gamer well enough to know that he would have seen through Imoto's little act the last time she had gone in to visit him, and she was pretty sure he was keeping the store closed in order for Yugi to catch up on some well deserved rest as well.

She was not complaining; she was still recovering from the game with Crawford, too. Normally she would get some rest during the day, while her light was in class, if she was this out of it. However, with the way Ba-Khu-Ra had been acting recently, she did not dare sleep any time her twin was around the other spirit.

Both she and Yugi needed the rest that the brief close-down would provide, and it was showing in their moods. Still, she did not want to drag her Futago no Imoto any further down than she already was. Instead, she tried changing the subject in order to try and cheer her light up.

_'Imoto?'_ she asked, sensing the churning emotions turning toward curiosity at what she wanted. _'What is the game we're picking up?'_

Yugi let out an amused huff as she tried to see if she could spot the sign for the video game store she had pre-ordered at. _'Pocket Monsters: Pikachu Edition. I used to have the Red version, but it got broken when I leant Anzu my Game Boy.'_

The Pharaoh felt embarrassed she had forgotten. As long as she had known her light-souled sister, she had been saving up part of her allowance each month in order to replace the Game Boy that Anzu had accidentally broken. As of this weekend, she had enough money to pay for both a new handheld console so she could play her old games again and the new game which had come out this morning. Oneesan had been looking forward to joining her twin in playing, but the argument with Bakura had blown it out of her mind.

The diversion had worked, though. The slight bounce in her younger sister's step was a distinct improvement on Imoto's mood from just moments ago. Plus this was the most awake and least ill-feeling her light had been since Duellist Kingdom. Oneesan was more than happy to encourage it, especially considering...

Yugi paused halfway down the road to the shop at the sudden crash of her twin's emotions as the Pharaoh remembered just how close things had gotten during that tournament.

_'Anesan? I'm okay. I'm still here,'_ Yugi murmured softly, sending sisterly love and reassurance over their bond.

It was not the first time she had had to remind her sister that she was okay, and once again she could sense that the proof of their connection helped the dark-souled twin relax. _'Sorry, Imoto, I just...'_

_'I understand.'_ Yugi started walking again, her mood a little sedated compared to before. _'It... It was close. And scary. But we're home now, and there's no one here who wants to hurt us.'_

As if those were magic words that attracted trouble, someone grabbed her arm and dragged her into the nearest alley. She did not get to see who before she was slammed into a wall, her right cheek scraping against the brickwork, causing her to cry out in pain. An arm pressed hard against her neck, pinning her there as her attacker dragged off her backpack.

Oneesan started to take control to protect her twin, but the arm moved and something sharp nicked Yugi's neck as it cut through the rope that held her Puzzle in place. The girl grabbed at the cord, preventing it from being taken from her, but her captor grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall, repining and stunning her long enough for the Puzzle's cord to go skittering out of her grasp.

"Told you it was gold. I bet we could make a small fortune off of this." She recognised the gloating voice. It sounded like Toshiro Akira, one of the seniors from Domino High, specifically one of the graduating class boys who had been bothering her in the days before she had solved the Millennium Puzzle. He was in the same class that Inogashira had been before Oneesan had Challenged him.

"Backpack's full of cash, too. Guess you were right about the prize money." The second male voice was less familiar, but his words made sense of this attack. The value of the prize money for Duelist Kingdom was common knowledge, and, like an idiot, she had openly stated that the check had cleared while in the school halls. These two had spotted her walking alone and decided to try and take it from her.

They could have the money in her bag, she could always save up from her pocket money again, but she was not going to let them take her Puzzle.

She stomped backwards, managing to land her heel on the toes of the guy holding her. He let go with a yelp, allowing her to wheel around and snatch the Puzzle from his surprised friend. As she darted away towards the road, she felt her sister's anger and desire to take control. However, she did not get a chance to tie a knot in the rope and put the Puzzle back on before one of the two thugs grabbed the back of her jacket and pulled her back and around, straight into a punch to her jaw that caused her to tumble to the ground and collide with the wall.

A foot slammed into her head, making it ricochet off of the brickwork, sending pain jolting through her and causing her world to blur and darken as she started to lose consciousness. She held on to enough awareness to curl around her Puzzle, protecting it. A second kick headed her way, but there was a reprieve as the jerk's friend pulled him back.

"There's no way…. all… money here... get her PIN…" The second thug was saying something as he rummaged through her bag, scattering various pieces of paper all over the floor, but Yugi could not focus on his words and simultaneously tie the rope back together. She hurt, she could taste blood, her world spun and she could not concentrate. Darkness was encroaching on her vision and she felt light-headed. Unconsciousness was oncoming and she needed her sister if she was getting out of this with the Puzzle.

The moment she slipped the rope over her head, the Pharaoh, furious at the way her twin had been treated, seized control and pushed herself to her feet, using the nearby dumpster to support herself. Not that the two jerks noticed as they debated the best way to get her pin number from her, their backs turned.

She could escape. That was an option. However, those assholes had hurt her light, tried to take the Puzzle, AND taken the money her twin had worked so very, very hard to save. In the last months after the announcement about the game bundle, Imoto had taken extra hours in the Kame Game Shop to earn a little more allowance so she could get it. She was NOT going to let these jerks walk away with that work.

The Shadows reached out, surrounding the thugs and trapping them. The pair could feel the cold reaching out and wrapping around them, and she was pleased to see nervousness in their body language as they turned around to face her.

"Not had enough?" Toshiro snorted, raising his fist, ready to strike her despite it being clear that she was only upright because she was holding onto the edge of the giant bin next to her.

He tried to take a step forward, only to find he could not move.

His friend found he had the same trouble. She smirked and let the Puzzle's glow allow them to come to their own realisation.

"W...what have you done?" Toshiro's voice shook.

"You seek to take money that's not yours." Her sharp tone and dark look made the two boys stop, neither having heard that tone come out of 'Mutou Yugi' before. "And you've trespassed in my soul. For that I Challenge you to a game."

"I'll punch your lights out!" The closest one strained against the darkness holding him, his fist raised.

"If you win, you can," Oneesan informed him, her gaze sweeping towards his friend, who was watching her with a level of realisation she was not sure she liked. "In fact, if you win, you'll be free to do whatever you like AND I'll give you my pin number. Of course, if you lose or cheat, then your fate is up to me."

"What do you mean, cheat?" Toshiro demanded, furious.

"We're playing a game. There have to be rules," the spirit pointed out as she pulled a 50 yen coin out of her pocket and flipped it. "Play fair, and you'll walk away unharmed. Cheat, and you won't like the consequences."

"This is what happened to Inogashira, isn't it?" The second thug's words made her nearly fumble the coin. "You did this to him, too."

"Inogashira cracked two of my ribs and was threatening my class." The spirit of the Puzzle scowled at him. "I was not going to let him continue."

"What's the rules?" the second demanded, looking determined. "I wanna kick your ass on his behalf."

"You're both five steps away from me. I'm ten steps away from the road. Reach me before I reach the road and you win. If I reach the road, I walk away with all of my money. Every turn you'll flip a coin." She tossed a coin each to the two boys. "Heads, you can move; tails, you have to stay put."

"Sounds simple, right Ito?" Toshiro asked as he caught his coin, confused and freaked out but willing to follow his friend's lead.

"Too simple," Ito disagreed, pissed at his friend for giving his name to this freak. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is that if you move when it's not your turn or try to harm me before you catch me, you'll get a Penalty." Oneesan shrugged with a sly smirk, pleased that Toshiro had given her his friend's name, "but you're going to play by the rules, right?"

"Who moves first?" Ito snapped out, already trying to think of ways he could kick her ass without breaking her rules.

"Toshiro, you can have first move, then Ito, then me." Her words eased his anger at his friend a little. If she already knew who Toshiro was, it would not have been hard to link back to him.

Toshiro glanced at him and Ito nodded, aware they were probably thinking the same thing. If she knew who they were, they were going to have to deal with her so she could not report them for trying to mug her.

Toshiro flipped his coin and left out a relieved breath when it landed on heads, allowing him to take a step forward. When Ito joined him, the relief on his face was obvious.

The haze that was trying to reclaim her did not help her mood when the coin flip gave her tails and prevented her moving towards safety.

_'Be careful, please, Anesan?'_ The spirit of the Puzzle paused at the sound of her sister's shaky, nervous voice, as the two boys moved forwards again.

_'I've got this,'_ the spirit promised her twin as she flipped her coin and took a step forward, still using the dumpster for support. She needed to. Her head still spun, her stomach was sore, her head ached, and there was at least one tooth loose, but she felt Imoto draw off some of the pain, helping her focus a little easier through the haze of a body that really wanted to be unconscious.

The two boys could not catch her in the next seven turns, and by the time they were two steps from her, she was one step from the entrance to the alley.

Ito saw the moment Toshiro decided that he was done playing by Mutou's rules, and though he tried to grab his friend's arm to stop him, the other teen launched himself forward and grabbed the girl's jacket, yanking her back and slamming her back against the wall, causing her to let out a pained cry.

He fought to hold himself still as Toshiro held the knife he had cut the cord of the Puzzle with to the girl's throat. "Screw your game. Screw your rules. Give me the pin number."

Ito took a sharp breath as Mutou's eyes lit up and the Puzzle glowed in sync with them. Toshiro's eyes widened and the vicious, smug smirk turned into a horrified expression as the darkness wrapped around him.

"You cheated," the girl hissed out as Toshiro backed up, terrified, reacting to something that only he could see. "Penalty Game, Congruence."

Toshiro backed up quickly, dropping the knife, as Ito heard her continue, "When you learn that no matter how big or small, everyone deserves to be treated with respect, you'll be free from those visions."

As Toshiro fled, Ito's anger flared up at her audacity. She thought she was better than them. That she had the right to judge them...

He snatched up the blade that his friend had left behind. Oneesan narrowly managed to dodge his attempt to stab her, causing him to stumble forward, and before he had managed to recover, the spirit of the Puzzle had cast the same Penalty on him.

As Ito fled and the magic wrapped up in the Challenge faded away, the Pharaoh leaned against the wall she had been slammed against, mentally exhausted and dizzy.

_'Let me take over.'_ Imoto nudged her gently, worried and able to sense that she was tired. The Pharaoh winced at the headache the words caused in her already ringing head.

_'I apologise, Imoto. You're not the only one still recovering from Duelist Kingdom.'_ The spirit felt guilty as she retreated to the Puzzle, leaving her twin to take over the battered body and start to sway.

_'You're allowed to be tired too, Anesan.'_ Yugi shook her head and then wished she had not done so as she slid down the wall and sat on the floor, the pain in her skull pounding in time with her heartbeat. It was the first time in months she had been beaten to a pulp, and she did not like the feeling now any better than she had before Death-T. _'I'm sorry, we got really beaten up. I should have asked Honda to come or something.'_

She glanced around, relaxing when she spotted her open backpack, which still had her savings within it.

_'You couldn't have known,'_ Oneesan disagreed as her twin forced herself to her feet and stumbled over to the bag, kneeling down to pick up the papers the thugs had chucked everywhere, her vision blurring until she could only see colours. _'You sure you're up to collecting your game?'_

_'They only hold pre-orders for twenty-four hours. If I don't get it today, they'll…'_

"Hello?" Yugi cut off and turned to look at the speaker. She found a blur of a red and black top and long black hair in the entrance to the alleyway. She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment and then opened them again, relieved when it helped her eyes focus enough to allow her to see a rather cute, tall teenage guy, probably about her age, with green eyes and long black hair, who had a dice earring dangling from one ear, a necklace with a clown head on a very spiky Christian cross around his neck, and a red headband with black diamonds that rested across his brow. "Are you okay?"

She tried to smile at him reassuringly and get to her feet, zipping up her bag as she got up, but she stumbled as she did so. He darted forwards and supported her until she was stable, then bent down and scooped something off of the floor before pausing. "I think this is yours."

She took it and squeaked, glad he had found her pre-order receipt before she had gotten too far away. "Th…thanks."

"You're welcome, but are you okay?" he pressed, offering her an arm to lean on.

"I'll… I'll be fine." She nodded, then winced in pain as her world spun and her vision blurred again. She took the offered limb, uncertain she would make it to the game store on her own, and leaned into the guy helping her. "I'm…"

"Mutou Yugi. The Queen of Games. I know," the guy interrupted, making the Duelist in question flinch. "Easy, I'm Otogi Ryuji… Games are kind of my thing. Don't worry, I'm not interested in your prize money if that's what you're worried about."

"Sorry…" Yugi apologised sheepishly. "I just…"

"I get it." Otogi shrugged, helping her towards the road. "That's a lot of money. I wouldn't want to lose it either."

"It's not… there's hospital bills." Yugi tried to correct him without telling him too much. "The money isn't mine to give away."

There was a moment's pause as the tall teen digested that piece of news and then sighed. "Should I be calling an ambulance for you?"

"N…No. I need to get to the store. There's no guarantee they'll be able to get the package deals in again, so I'd miss my chance if I don't.…" She trailed off as she felt her legs give out. Otogi's supporting arm adjusted into a proper grip as he helped her sit on one of the benches along the road, and concern pulsed along the bond from her other self.

"Sit there a minute, okay?" he suggested, concern clear in his words. When she nodded, he vanished out of her line of sight.

_'He seems nice.'_ Yugi smiled slightly as she leaned back and closed her eyes, her head still pounding. The spirit of the Puzzle did not respond, though her twin could sense uncertainty trickling across the bond.

_'We don't know him very well yet.'_ Yugi could feel her sister's shrug like it was her own, then the spirit sighed. _'Imoto? I have an idea. Can I try it?'_

When the lighter soul stepped back, allowing the darker twin to take control of the body, she got to her feet and stumbled over to the newsagents. She paid for one of the water bottles from the cold drinks cabinet and sat back down.

_'Anesan? What are you up to?'_ her twin asked as she searched out the card she wanted from their deck.

_'You summoned a Kuriboh, a real one, back on Duelist Kingdom. If you can summon the monsters using the Puzzle, maybe we can use the spells, too,'_ the spirit of the Puzzle answered as she found Goblin's Secret Remedy. In the game of Duel Monsters it was a card that could restore 600 life points, so if her theory was right, it would heal her up a little.

She took a deep breath, reaching for the power of the Puzzle as she whispered, "I activate Goblin's Secret Remedy," and pushed the power into the water she had purchased, rather than directly into herself, not wanting to knock herself unconscious for days again if it did not work the way she wanted it to.

The water glowed a pale green for a second, then the light was gone. The Pharaoh unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip. The water stung as it went down, but it was worth it as the pain in her head started to ease and the prickling sensation from her scraped cheek faded.

_'I wish we'd known about this trick months ago,'_ Yugi chuckled over the bond as Oneesan took another sip and looked around, wondering where Otogi had gone. _'So… chain from now on?'_

_'Huh?'_ The confused noise the spirit of the Puzzle let out made Yugi giggle.

_'The Puzzle isn't safe on rope, so we should probably switch to chain or something a little hardier,'_ Yugi suggested as the spirit of the Puzzle allowed her to take control. She took another sip of the water and then a sharp breath at the sting as it went down, but she was able to relax as the pain almost completely vanished. _'That… doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Could this have been what Shadi was trying to do?'_

_'I don't know.'_ Oneesan huffed over their bond as Yugi got to her feet, feeling a lot more at ease now she could see straight again, and noting that her sister was beginning to doze off, suggesting that she had not really had the energy to do this, _'but if it was, he got it very wrong. Chain's not a bad idea, by the way. It would need to be something thicker than normal jewellery chain, though.'_

_'I have a couple of ideas, but we should grab our stuff first, before they try and sell it.'_ When her twin did not disagree with her plan, she headed for the game store. She took one last sip of her magic-infused water, leaving her with about half a bottle, before stepping inside to find Otogi was in the queue.

"Hey." He startled at Yugi's call and looked over, his eyes narrowing for a moment, before he lifted the cord to allow her to stand next to him in line. Yugi joined him, trying to ignore the grumbling from the people behind them.

"I held a place in the line for you." The teen smiled, his expression seeming honest. Yugi noted that his eyes rested on her healed cheek for a second or two, suggesting he had noticed the difference.

"Thanks." The Queen of Games smiled at him, noting the wariness floating at the back of her mind from her twin and trying to ignore it.

The teen paused, and there was a moment where she thought he was going to ask something, then he nodded. "So Duel Monsters isn't your only game, huh? You like Pocket Monsters, too?"

"Haven't gotten to play much." Yugi shrugged as they moved along the queue. "I was enjoying Red before I loaned my Game Boy to a friend and she accidentally broke it."

"Ouch, that sucks." He grimaced, wondering how it might have happened, but figuring Yugi would have told him if she had been willing to. "So you've never played Stadium?"

"Don't have an N64. That's the next thing to save for," she admitted sheepishly before squeaking as, in her distraction, she failed to see the pole that the rope guiding the queue was attached to, bumped into it, and knocked it over.

After much apologising, she and Otogi managed to stand it back up, by which time Yugi's head was spinning so badly she wanted to throw up. She thought she was hiding it well until her companion's voice told her otherwise.

"If you want to sit down, I can get your pre-order," he offered, his voice full of concern.

"We're nearly at the desk now," she disagreed. "Besides, I've already made enough of a fool of myself. I'm not going to give up now."

The other gamer chuckled at that and helped her to the counter before talking to a clerk at another till further down as Yugi handed over her pre-order slip.

"One copy of Pocket Monsters: Pikachu and a limited edition Pikachu Game Boy Color." The man behind the counter sounded far too happy about the pickup as he pulled open the drawer behind him and took out a yellow box with Pikachu on it, then had to go and hunt out the handheld console from the backrooms since all the shop floor ones had sold out already. Ten minutes later, however, he came back with a Game Boy Color box for a yellow console with multi-coloured buttons and a little Pikachu image.

Yugi mentally bounced as she pulled out her long-saved pocket money and handed it over, along with her loyalty card, in exchange for a carrier bag containing the two boxes. "Thank you."

"Thank you for shopping with us." The clerk handed the card back and bowed to her in return. She grinned at him as she turned away, looking for Otogi so she could be cheeky and ask him to give her a hand to the bus stop.

When she found him near the door, he had a huge bag and seemed to be waiting for her, as he immediately offered his arm again. "How're you getting home with that?"

"Bus."

Before she could say anything else, he was shaking his head. "I'll give you a lift home. My driver is outside."

"You don't have to," Yugi squeaked, surprised.

"We need to head that way anyway." His reassuring tone made his companion relax. "And what kind of man would I be if I didn't help a pretty girl out when she needed it?"

She could not help the blush that rose at the compliment, though she could sense the eye roll that her Anesan was giving.

She let him lead her out to his car and suddenly realised that her new friend might be richer than she had thought, when the vehicle outside was a limo-a short one, but a limo nonetheless. Otogi opened the door for her, and she slid into the rather comfortable interior, happy to be inside one of these willingly for a change.

He slid in after her, bringing the huge bag in with him, and closed the door before looking at the driver. "Kame Game Shop first, please."

As the car pulled away, Yugi could not help but ask, "You have a limo?"

"My Otosan owns the Black Clown." He nodded, watching the world go by through the window.

Yugi's eyes widened and her heart dropped. He was the heir to the rival store. The much bigger, much grander rival store, who could afford to have lower prices than theirs because they had the space and funds to buy in bulk. He probably had been secretly laughing at her the whole time he had been helping her.

"Ah…" Yugi looked down, trying to think of something to say. "Umm, I thought it was the Black Crown. Are you going to change the sign?"

Otogi snorted, amused. "Got an L arriving tomorrow to replace the R."

Yugi nodded, not sure what else to say as they pulled up outside the Kame Game Shop. Otogi got out and opened the door for her. He helped her out before taking out not only her bag, but also the huge bag that he had been carrying, and dropped them beside her.

"That's yours, not mine," Yugi tried to correct him.

"Mutou…" Otogi started, brushing his fringe out of his eyes and trying to ignore the twittering of the girls hanging around outside the clothes store next door. "Our families… aren't the best of friends."

"Wh…"

"Let me finish." Otogi cut her off before she could ask what he meant. "We have rival stores, and I know my Otosan has a… rather passionate dislike of your Ojiisan, but I'm hoping we can work around it, maybe spend more time in each other's company. This…" he said with a gesture to the bag, "is because I wanted to give you something special to prove I'm better than my Otosan."

"You didn't…" When Otogi held up a hand, Yugi fell silent again.

"I know I didn't need to, but I wanted to, and I'll be offended if you refuse it," he continued. "Yes, it's a big gift, but I wanted to give you something I knew you wanted. After all, you let me have the pleasure of your company."

The emphasis on pleasure and the slightly dirty smile made her sigh and her Anesan grimace. Some teenage guys were hopeless. "Otogi, I…"

"I'll see you in school." He cut her off again, entered the car, and shut the door behind him before she could ask any of the questions she now had about their family feud. As the car drove off, she picked up the bags, trying to work out what to do with the gift and ignore the way the girls were staring at her as she headed in through the back door that led straight up to the flat. Jii-san was there waiting for her, and the moment he saw her, he hugged her tightly.

"Glad you're home," Yugi mumbled into him, relief that he was safe and regret she was not home to welcome him intermingling.

"It's good to be home. You're late. Are you okay?" Her grandfather pressed, pushing her away slightly so he could get a good look at her.

"I'll be fine. Just need to rest," his granddaughter tried to reassure him, leaning on the counter slightly as she smiled at him, just pleased to see him home. "Someone tried to jump me, but Anesan sorted it."

He nodded and herded her through to the living room so she could sit down, before sitting next to her.

"We're fine now," she promised him as she chugged the last of the water bottle, the healing spell finished up, and the pain completely stopped. "Just tired. We'll probably head to bed early tonight."

"Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Sugoroku nodded, relieved to see her posture improve, though he could not help but wonder what they had done to the water to cause it.

"Of course, Jii-san." She nodded, sending gratitude to her other self for thinking of the healing card and actually getting it to work.

"You bought your game then?" Sugoroku asked with a grin after Yugi gave him a proper hug, relieved to see him home safely, as he gestured to the bags, "and then some it looks like."

Yugi paused, then nodded, pulling the Pocket Monsters: Pikachu game and special edition Game Boy out of her bag.

"What's in the other bag?" her Ojiisan pressed.

"I'm not sure." She opened the bag and stared for a moment before pulling out a grape purple N64, a spare controller, Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Pocket Monsters Stadium, along with both the transfer pack the Pocket Monsters game had come with and a spare, meaning two people could load their creatures into the N64 game.

"How…?" Ojiisan's voice was incredulous as she stared at the boxes, eyes wide. "Yugi… If you used some of the prize money…"

"No! I wouldn't!" Yugi shook her head violently, kind of hurt he would suggest it. "There was a guy, Otogi Ryuji. We were talking about games and I mentioned I'd never played Stadium because I didn't have an N64." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "he said our families don't get along and gave me that bag to prove he was better than his Otosan."

Her grandfather nodded, frowning slightly as he examined the boxes. He remembered the name Otogi. A couple of decades ago, he had been forced into a magical game with his student who went by that name. It was a game where you bet a number of years every time you moved, and at the end of the game, the loser aged by the amount bet.

He had won of course, but he could not help but be worried. This 'Ryuji' was a blatantly a relative. However, Sugoroku was not sure what he was up to. People did not just spend this much money on people they had just met, after all. Not unless they were flirting or up to something. He did not want to be suspicious, but he could not help but wonder if Yugi's new friend had bought it all just so he could flaunt how much wealthier the Otogi clan was. Buying the Mutou clan heiress things her family just could not afford right now would make Yugi like him and embarrass her guardian at the same time.

Then he kicked himself for labelling the child as bad as his predecessors without even getting to know the boy. Ryuji had given Yugi a gift to foster a better relationship, after all. He could well be better than his relatives. "Promise me you'll be careful around him if you see him again? He might seem nice, but don't be alone with him, okay? Not until I've met him."

Yugi nodded, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Why don't you like the Otogis?"

Her grandfather sat back with a sigh. "Otogi Kintaro was a student of mine and we got into a… heated debate while on a dig. One that involved magic. I haven't seen him since."

Yugi nodded, thinking as she looked over the boxes. "He said he bought me this lot because he wanted to have a better relationship with me than you and his dad have. I'd give it back, but he said he'd be offended. I'll have to find something to give him in return, though. This is much too much not to."

And there it was, Sugoroku mentally grimaced. Yugi felt like she was in Otogi's debt, giving the boy an advantage in future interactions. He could have been being honest that he wanted to get along with Yugi, but it was not good business to just spend what had to be around twenty thousand yen on a rival unless you were looking to butter them up for a takeover. Ryuji might have said he had good intentions, but Ojiisan just could not bring himself to trust the boy.

Still, for now he had not been overt about having ulterior motives, and this was something he had been trying to save up for to give to his granddaughter, so he supposed he should actually let her play.

"If he isn't going to accept this back, let's get it set up." Ojiisan hid his concerns behind a jovial tone and a small smile and was rewarded by a bright grin.

"Then we can play together?" Yugi offered hopefully and was rewarded by the retired explorer grinning back.

"Sounds good."


	3. Bonds

Mutou Sugoroku sighed as he closed Yugi's bedroom door behind him. When she had fallen asleep midway through infiltrating Hyrule Castle, it had been difficult to wake her enough to get her to go to bed. She had lasted longer than he had suspected, and if she was up in time for breakfast tomorrow he was going to be surprised.

He had never been prouder of his granddaughter. She had gone above and beyond to save him and help her friends at Duelist Kingdom. Plus Jonouchi had informed him that after her return, she had been working herself to the bone, opening the store daily after school to try and bring in at least a little income.

He could be nothing but proud of her for trying her hardest to take care of everyone and everything else, but now he was home, he was going to do his damnedest to ensure that she took care of herself. His decision not to open this weekend had been based on that. While it meant that the Black Crown got an extra trading weekend on them, both he and Yugi had needed the chance to spend time in each other's company. Today and tomorrow were just too important to miss. That and, if the shop was not open, Yugi would not resist him when he tried to get her to rest.

As he returned to the living room, he scooped up the folder Yugi had presented him with earlier, when they had paused for dinner. He skimmed though it, sighing as he went back over the ten students who wanted his granddaughter to run their Duel Club for them.

He was not sure how he felt about it. On the one hand, he relied on Yugi to help him run the shop and part of him felt like it was part of her family responsibility to assist in keeping the business operating smoothly.

On the other, she was fifteen now and she needed to have a life of her own. He knew she loved the shop and it was a primary part of her plans for the future, but dueling was also a major part: a part that made her happy. Moreover, she had been so much more alive since she had gotten friends her own age that it would be cruel to deny her the chance to spend more time with others who wanted to learn more about her passion.

He sat back on the sofa and picked out the timetable that had been shuffled into the slightly dirty, disorganized papers. Mondays and Thursdays were no problem. She was normally home an hour and a half after school ended anyway. It would just mean she would need to come straight home rather than stopping by the arcades or fast food places with her friends on those days.

It was Saturday that was the problem. It was the busiest day of the week for the shop. Yugi always came straight home from the half day of lessons and they were always snowed under. He needed her as soon as she was available. If he agreed to let her join the Duel Club he would have to keep running the place on his own for that extra time and just hope that he did not get complaints.

It would not be as big an issue if the student who had been working on the weekends had not handed in his notice because he was going over to Tokyo for University and wanted to get there early so he could get settled in. Sugoroku had been prepared to work alone until he could find someone to hire for the role, but he had been relying on his granddaughter helping him on Saturday afternoons and Sundays.

Jou was helpful and would continue to be so around his other job, but Dr. Mutou was fully aware that the other job was the one that paid for the boy's education, so he could not ask Jonouchi to work more hours for them if it interfered with that. The Mutous helped as much as they could, but Jou was a proud boy and hated asking them for help. There was only so much they could do, especially when legally his father was supposed to be financially supporting Jou, so the school got funny if Sugoroku tried to make payments for the boy.

The sound of the backdoor opening made him pause and turn to look over, where Jonouchi was just dropping his school bag by the entrance. "Ojiisan, hey. Good to see you home."

Dr. Mutou grinned broadly at the other teenager he was inordinately proud of. Jou too had done his best at Duelist Kingdom. Checking the shop cameras revealed that he had been assisting Yugi around his other job there when he could, too. He had made a good choice by allowing the boy to move in all those months ago. "It's good to be home. Can we talk for a moment?"

"Uh oh, what did I do?" The sudden nerves from the Duelist made the elderly archaeologist chuckle.

"Nothing, nothing, but I want to bring up something with you while Yugi's catching up on some well-deserved sleep." He gestured to the couch. The blond took a seat, running his hand through his hair as he glanced in the direction of the bedrooms with a worried look.

"Yuge okay?" Jou fretted as Sugoroku adjusted in his seat to face him.

"As okay as she can be with what she's been up to recently." The old Game Master sighed. "First of all, I wanted to thank you for helping her out."

"I mean, how could I do any less," the Duelist deflected, "with what she offered? Besides, she's my friend. I ain't gunna let her run into trouble without me."

"And that's why my second item has come up." Doctor Mutou placed the Duel Club paperwork back in its folder and sighed. "Your mother is coming tomorrow, and I want you to be aware that I will not allow her to badmouth you in this house."

Jou startled and stared at the old man, trying to work out if he was serious.

"You have proved to be a valuable member of this household, and I consider you one of us," Sugoroku confirmed. "This is your house as much as it is mine and Yugi's, and that means you have more rights here than your mother does."

The teen sat back, letting out a slow breath at the realization that the old man was speaking honestly. "I… I'm not a Mutou. This is your house."

"You aren't officially a Mutou, no, but I am looking into fixing that, and even if I can't, you still have a place here." When Jou stared at him again, Dr. Mutou nodded. "I'm not lying about that, Jou."

"Why?" The boy sat back, his expression closed as he tried not to let his mind jump to the worst case scenarios for the reason.

"Two reasons." Ojiisan held up two fingers and then lowered one. "One, you've proved yourself to be a good kid, a fantastic ally to my Yugi, and a valued member of my household. I don't wish to lose you, and I want be aware when you're having issues so I can help you, rather than having to hear it second hand because I'm not your guardian."

Jou nodded, blushing slightly at the praise but not sure how to respond to it. Then the second finger rejoined the first. "Two, it's not unheard of for a family that owns a business but has no male heirs to adopt a boy who has proved himself, and you fit the bill. The question I have is, do you want me to continue to try?"

"You're trying to legally adopt me?" Jou asked, trying to wrap his head around the news, the confusion trickling onto his features. "Like, you want custody? Seriously?"

"I know your Otosan is your legal guardian, and unfortunately I can't get Shinken, legal custody, from him. I'm not a member of your family, and they won't allow me due to my age and my heart problems. I've already had my lawyer look into it. That means for things like your passport and other legal documents, your Otosan is responsible. Supposedly," the Mutou clan head admitted, disappointment and distaste dripping off his words. "However, this is still your home, and I am looking into options that would formally give me physical custody, Kangoken."

Jou paused as he realized he had never really considered the custody arrangements for himself. His mother had taken Shizuka and bailed on him, leaving him with his drunkard of a father. He just knew his father had Shinken and Kangoken for him, and he had just kind of assumed that arrangement was immutable and unchanging until he hit twenty or he could prove that he was capable of functioning on his own and could tell his Otosan where to get off. He had not realized someone else could get physical custody of him. Or that anyone would want to.

"If you want me to continue applying, I will, or you can tell me to back off. Just so you're aware, I'm already most of the way to officially having physical custody just by the arrangement we have now. As long as you continue to sleep here at night, go to school, and follow my rules, I can claim Kangoken and can protect you if I need to as long as no one looks too closely. It's dependent on you, though, Jonouchi," the elderly Game Master warned the teen, who looked at him sharply. "Kangoken is the right to house and raise a child. I can only apply for it as long as you are doing better under my care than you were with your father, so your grades need to stay up and you need to stay out of trouble, understand?"

"What about the age and heart thing?" Confusion pulsed through Jou as he tried to comprehend what he was being told.

"That is a large chunk of the hold up, yes, and the recent 'unexplained' coma didn't help." The bitter tone told Jou that there was more to that than he was being told, and that Ojiisan was still understandably peeved about the whole soul-stealing thing. "But Kangoken is a much less formal arrangement than Shinken. It doesn't have to go to court to be arranged, and if something happened to me, as long as I ensured there was someone to keep an eye on you and you had a roof over your head, it should still go through. Eventually."

"So same arrangements you have to make for Yuge anyway." The blonde nodded, understanding but curious what the rest of the 'hold up' was. "Does this mean I'd be a Mutou? If it goes through, I mean."

Ojiisan sighed, his shoulders slumping as he shook his head. "As much as I would be proud to make you a Mutou and if I were younger and healthier I would be allowed to adopt a male heir, I can't make you a Mutou by name without getting Shinken. However, as far as I'm concerned, you are part of this family and I promise you, as long as I have responsibility for you, I will do my best by you."

Jou swallowed hard, trying to ignore the disappointment that suddenly struck and shift the lump that was rising in his throat. He was used to the adults in his life either abandoning him or considering him a waste of space. Here was a man who had only known him for about nine months, yet actually wanted him and was willing to add him to the family legally if he was allowed. "Does Yuge know?"

"Not yet. I didn't want to get her hopes up if you were going to tell me to push off. I know this is a big thing and I haven't asked you before." Sugoroku gave him a sheepish shrug. "Plus this doesn't change the Koseki at all, so it was my decision to make."

Jou nodded, thinking. The Koseki, or family register, listed legally adopted children underneath born ones. If he was not becoming a Mutou legally, he would not need to be added to it, and it would not affect Yugi's inheritance. So while he had to worry about Yugi's reaction when she found out, her opinion was not needed before a decision was made.

He still kind of wanted it. After how badly he had messed up on Duelist Kingdom, he was not sure he deserved the rights that Jii-san was offering him, and he wanted to hear what his best friend felt about the situation. He did not want to wake her, though. She needed the rest.

"You don't have to tell me what you want right now, and if I've overstepped my bounds then you can feel free to tell me," Dr. Mutou informed him as the old man pushed himself to his feet, "but…"

"No." The teen's voice was louder than he intended and he winced and glanced towards the bedrooms, hoping his voice had not carried that far. "I'm just… thank you."

"You're welcome, Jou..."

"Katsuya. My given name is Katsuya. You can use it if you want." Katsuya's voice cracked as he spoke and he swallowed again. "And thank you, Ojiisan."

"Jii-san," Dr. Mutou corrected him with a slightly watery smile. "No need for formalities amongst family, right?" When Katsuya nodded, the old gamer stretched, and the teen winced as he heard something pop. "Good, it took me far too long to get Yugi to call me that. Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to bed. Hospitals are horrible places to get a decent night's sleep."

The elderly gentleman headed for the door and then paused. "Katsuya, can you do me a favour?"

"Of course." Jou was not about to turn him down after their talk.

"There's a guy, his name is Otogi Ryuji. His father doesn't like me, and the kid was hanging around Yugi earlier." Sugoroku grimaced. "I don't think he has anything against Yugi and he bought her presents, but can you keep an eye on him for me?"

"No problem." Katsuya nodded, irritation bubbling away under the surface at the thought of some guy possibly trying to bribe his friend into liking him, along with a surge of something else that he did not quite understand.

"Thank you." Ojiisan half bowed and Jou waved him off, watching as the man who had tried to find a way to legally get him out from under his father's thumb headed for bed. He still could not quite comprehend why the former archaeologist wanted him. He had been honest with the man after the first incident with Hirutani. It was no secret that he had been second-in-command of a gang, a rather high-ranked one, and he had given up future prospects in the Yakuza when he had gone straight. He also could not deny that even after he had given up that life, he had been an easily-baited bully. He still was when he was in the wrong mood. Duelist Kingdom had proved that to him.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back into the sofa and stared at the ceiling. He had already made up his mind at Duelist Kingdom that he needed to be a better person. That he needed to get a stronger grip on his temper. His hotheadedness had gotten Yugi hurt and had nearly cost Shizuka everything. If Yugi had not risked her soul to get everything everyone had wanted, his sister would not be getting the operation she needed because he had allowed Kaiba to bait him into doing something stupid.

He could not let that happen again. He could not continue to hurt those around him. This offer, the offer of a home and a family that wanted him, just brought that fact home harder.

If he screwed this up, he would never forgive himself.

The sounds of a door squealing down the hallway made him pause. There was only one door in the house that made that noise. He got to his feet and poked his head out through the doorway to find that Yugi was carrying Ginka, her silver-furred, extra-fluffy kitty, out of the bedroom, quietly scolding her for trying to sleep on her face.

The snicker that escaped Jou's throat made the girl's head shoot up. Half-lidded eyes met his, and the Queen of Games grinned at him tiredly. "Hey. Work go okay?"

"It was fine. Didn't think you'd be awake." He held his arms out and Yugi planted the six-month-old cat into them. The feline went limp and floppy, forcing him to try and prevent her from melting out of his arms to the tune of his best friend's giggling. "I swear you're made of slinky."

The purrs did not dissuade his opinions as he found a comfortable position for both himself and the cat.

"Jii-san says she's part ragdoll," Yugi yawned, "which explains the floppy cat. I don't normally mind, but she woke me up by melting over my face. Can you check her food bowl for me?"

"Sure." The increased volume of the purring from the feline in his arms made the boy look down with a slight grimace. "You know the word food, don't you?"

His friend chuckled as the kitty settled happily with him. "Night, Jou."

Jou nodded, then hesitated for a moment before asking, "Yuge?"

The girl paused and looked at him, worry crossing her features as she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up a bit. "What's up?"

Nervousness suddenly hit, along with the remembrance that Yugi needed sleep, meaning that it was not fair to keep her awake for his question. He just gave her a sheepish grin, trying to hide his emotions. "Nothing. It can wait. Go back to bed."

"If you're sure. If you need to unwind before bed, feel free to start a new game on any of the N64 games." It was a sign of how exhausted the girl was that she did not question him on it. Under normal circumstances she would be able to read him like an open book, so the fact she did not even guess something was up told Jou that he had made the right decision.

Then what she had said hit him. "Wait, we have an N64 now?"

"I made a friend. He bought it for me." The Queen of Games nodded. "But you can play as much as you like; I have Pocket Monsters if you're playing during the day."

Suddenly Jou understood why Jii-san was nervous about Yugi's new 'friend.' A games console was not a cheap item. That Otogi had just outright bought one for Yugi spoke of him possibly having ulterior motives, something Yugi would have known for herself if she had been with it.

"Thanks." He just grinned. "Maybe I will. Once I've fed the…" He trailed off as Ginka slipped out of his arms and stalked into the living room. "Cat."

The other Duelist just giggled and nodded. "Good night, Jou."

"Night, Yuge."

* * *

Yugi was woken up the following morning by the sounds of children screaming outside her half-open window. She groaned, burying her head under her pillow. It was far too early to deal with small, screaming children. As she emerged from her hiding place, she realized that it was not as early as she had thought it was. The sun streaming through the window was far too bright.

Reaching over to her bedside table and checking her phone revealed that it was almost midday, making her squeak and scramble out of bed. Jou's Okaasan was due to arrive at one, and she had promised her friend that she would do a last-minute tidy of the flat before she got here. She pulled on the first clothes she could grab, planning on changing into something smarter before Jou's Okaasan arrived, slipped the knotted rope of the Puzzle over her head, and darted down to the living room, hoping there was enough time to do at least a quick blitz.

She was surprised to come down to find the flat spotless and the music of the Temple of Time playing quietly in the background. She glanced around to find Jou, controller in hand, asleep on the sofa, in a smart shirt and trousers. She slipped past him, wondering if her friend had even managed to get any sleep before sunrise, and stopped in the doorway when she saw her grandfather was actually cooking.

"Jii-san?" she asked, trying to step around the feline weaving her way around her owner's legs.

"Yugi, hey, I was going to wake you once lunch was ready." Her grandfather grinned at her as he stirred the pot of chicken soup. Yugi licked her lips as the smells hit her. "Can you grab a stool a minute? I need to talk to you."

"Uh oh, what did I do?" She was not quite sure why that made Jii-san laugh, but she pulled up a stool and leaned on the counter.

"Katsuya asked that as well. You kids have a guilt complex," the elderly gamer explained as he slid a glass of orange juice across the table to her. Yugi's head snapped up at the sound of Jou's given name, and she stared at her grandfather, hoping for an explanation. "I have a question for you, and I want an honest answer."

"Okay?" she half-asked, mentally prodding her twin, who grumbled, having been dozing, but started paying attention.

"I know you're aware I gave Jou permission to stay here." Yugi nodded, wondering where he was going with it. "I am looking into making it a more formal arrangement. Are you okay with that?"

The girl paused and took a sip of her drink while she thought. "You're trying to adopt him?"

"I can't get Shinken for him, like I have for you," Sugoroku explained as he started to dish up the ramen noodles to go with their soup, "but I'm looking into getting Kangoken for him so he has some protection."

"So Jou would be my brother?" she asked, trying to ignore the weird twisting feeling in her gut despite the fact the idea made her happy. She liked Jou, he was her best friend, and he knew she would be lost without him. Having him as a member of the family would be a good thing, so she did not understand why the idea hurt. She felt the mental equivalent of a hug from her sister and leaned back slightly, wondering if the spirit of the Puzzle understood better than she did.

"Officially it's more like I would be fostering him." Ojiisan frowned slightly, wondering why his granddaughter looked hurt and hoping she was not seriously upset about this. "He wouldn't legally be a Mutou, but he would be my charge. Are you alright with that?"

"Of course." She nodded, the twist loosening as she comprehended the difference. "He's my best friend. I'm happy to have him here. We should probably make a little more room for him, though."

"We can work it out. We might have to move things around, but we'll have time." Relief hit Jii-san hard as her face brightened. "I needed to ask before we spoke to Jou's family."

He paused, then swept across the kitchen and hugged her tightly. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm okay," the Queen of Games pledged. "It's just a surprise. A good one, I promise. If you could get Jou as my brother that would be okay, too, I'm just… can I blame not being awake yet? I still feel a little weird from the weekend."

"Sure." Sugoroku was not sure that was the full story, but he did not want to push too hard if she was tired. "Can you go wake Katsuya for me? He was up before I was."

Yugi headed back into the living room, still trying to work out why the idea of Jou being her brother had bothered her so much, and paused as she considered the teen who was blinking owlishly around the room, like he was not quite sure where he was. "Morning, Jou."

"Hey, Yuge," The bigger teen stretched and adjusted to make room on the sofa for her. "I hope you don't mind, but I cleaned up. I couldn't sleep last night."

She grimaced, glancing over her shoulder to check what her grandfather was up to, and when she saw he was putting the three bowls on a tray, grabbed up her Game Boy box and her new game and slumped into the spot he had vacated for her. "Sorry, I was supposed to do it for you."

"It was done long before you normally get up." Jou saved his game and put the controller on the table as Yugi put her boxes on the table next to her. "So don't worry about it."

When he waved it off, she relaxed and leaned into him, happy that he was not angry with her, and still trying to process what Ojiisan had told her. "Hey, Jou?"

He paused and looked down at her at the quiet question. "What's up, Yuge?"

"Has… has Jii-san talked to you?" She glanced upwards and when her eyes met his, the sudden fear on his features made her realize he was terrified of her, or more specifically what she was going to say.

"You mean about…" He hesitated. When she nodded, he took a deep breath before getting to his feet and running a hand through his hair, pacing for a moment before asking. "Are you mad?"

"No." The Queen of Games shook her head, not having meant to frighten him. "In fact, if you need a little more space, I'll help you get some once your Okaasan leaves. I just… are you okay with it?"

"I. Yeah." He sighed and slumped back down next to her, his whole body language more relaxed at her words. "Kinda in shock, you know?"

"It's a huge thing." Yugi nodded, remembering how she felt when she knew Jii-san was going to adopt her after her life had fallen apart. "But you DO belong here, and I'm glad Jii-san is trying to make it official."

He opened his mouth to reply, then saw their grandfather entering the room with the tray. He got to his feet and took the tray from the elderly man so he could get comfortable. Dishing up to the two Mutous before taking a seat, he turned back to Yugi. "Even after Duelist Kingdom?"

There was a brief pause as Yugi tried to work out what he meant, then she winced. "If you mean what happened after I spoke to Kaiba, then you were right to be mad. If you meant what happened with the Eliminator, I'm not mad at you about that. Bakura was the one who caused that mess."

Then she frowned and gave him a pointed look. "Besides, how could I still be mad at you for those things after you saved us? Without you and the rest of our friends…"

When she shuddered he went to wrap an arm around her shoulder, only to pull up when her eyes turned red and a grateful look from a face that did not often show thanks made him pause.

"Seriously, Jou. You were there when we needed you, and we are grateful beyond words that you were." The spirit of the Puzzle nodded politely at him, the closest she could get to a bow with a bowl of ramen soup on her lap. "We're not going to say you can't become part of the household, because you already are and we want you to be."

"Katsuya. You two can call me Katsuya." The teen in question could not help but wonder why the deceased Pharaoh's expression closed at the offer, then remembered that Oneesan did not know her name, so she could not reciprocate, and mentally winced. "Oneesan? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's fine, Katsuya, thank you." She waved it off and vanished into the Puzzle, which was a good sign that she did not want to talk about it. Yugi retook control and leaned into him, a little concerned for her twin but aware there was nothing she could do to help.

As he tucked into his delicious meal, Katsuya found that having Yugi's warmth pressed into his side was comfortable. He shifted slightly so she could settle in properly, allowing them both to eat contentedly before the chaos that was going to be the meeting kicked in. Still, at least he knew all three Mutous had his back, and that made the thought of dealing with his mother much easier to bear.


	4. Three Million Yen

_'What do you think, Anesan?'_

The Spirit of the Puzzle frowned at the hesitation in her twin's tone and tilted her head as she considered her twin's outfit. The sleeveless, knee-length black dress that was held in at the waist with a wide purple belt would not have been her first choice for an outfit; in fact, she was fully aware that it was not Imoto's either, but it was a tidy outfit that did look good on her. Since the girl wanted to make a good impression on the older woman, the dress was a better option than their normal casual wear.

Still, she could see that her twin was uncomfortable, and she could not tell why. Then a thought occurred to her. The last time they had worn a dress had been the night they had been kidnapped by Hirutani's gang for standing up to their boss and ended up in hospital. She knew that her twin's memories of that night were fragmented because of the injuries she had taken, but there were enough available that flashbacks were an issue. It was not unreasonable that the nervousness would be related to that.

_'It's cute…'_ The Pharaoh trailed off and headed for the wardrobe. She could not interact directly with objects in the living world when she was not possessing her twin, but she was at least capable of pointing things out to Imoto ever since the girl had started seeing her when she walked around as a ghost.

_'There's a but there.'_ The mental voice of the mortal half of their shared soul wavered as she followed the spectral half, wondering what the spirit was going to suggest.

_'If you go into this meeting uncomfortable, then Katsuya's mother might try to take advantage of it,'_ the dark Yugi told the light one as she scanned the wardrobe for the item of clothing she was looking for, _'but might I suggest you try these, underneath that dress?'_

When the older twin's fingers brushed through an item of clothing, the younger pulled down a pair of purple leggings with subtle gold swirls in them. Yugi paused to consider them, then nodded and slipped them on. Returning to the mirror attached to the back of her bedroom door, the teen did a twirl, trying to get a good look, and causing the skirt to lift slightly as she spun, and then smiled, seeming more satisfied with the clothes now her legs were fully covered.

_'You know, that would look good with the gold bangles that Jii-san bought you for your birthday,'_ the spirit offered when her twin's smile faltered and her fingers ran over the scars around her wrists caused by the rope burns from the kidnapping. The scars were normally covered by long-sleeve tops or jackets, not on display like they were now, and Yugi paused to consider her twin's suggestion, then nodded again and slipped across the room to the wooden jewellery box that her grandfather had given her. Opening it revealed the cartouche that Anzu had given Oneesan, a golden ankh pendant that she had not yet worn out because the one time she had tried to wear it, it had gotten tangled in the rope of the Puzzle, and a pair of bangles made up from gold squares on elastic that had been engraved with Egyptian hieroglyphs and other symbols.

She slipped them on and held her wrists up to the light coming through the window, grinning brightly at both the glint that the sunlight gave the golden tiles and the fact that they covered the burns, before turning to look at the Spirit of the Puzzle and pausing when she saw that the ghost was kind of staring. _'Anesan?'_

The Pharaoh paused and sighed, then got to her feet. _'It's nothing, Imoto. I just… there was a moment when I thought I saw…'_

The girl stepped over to the ghost and wrapped her arms around her in a hug, still partly startled that she could physically touch her twin, but able to sense that the other soul needed it. _'Talk to me?'_

_'Have you considered getting your ears pierced?'_ the Pharaoh asked as she hugged the girl back, kind of relieved to have something in this world that she could touch. When confusion pulsed over the bond from her twin, she followed it up with, _'I had a mental flash of something. Gold earrings and jewelled collars and bangles shimmering in bright sunlight.'_

The Puzzle bearer backed up, left hand going to the matching ear as she considered her twin's words. _'Could it be a memory?'_

Before the Spirit of the Puzzle could answer, the doorbell rang and the Pharaoh retreated into her Item. Yugi took a deep breath and headed for the front door, kind of dreading the upcoming meeting. She reached the living room in time to hear her grandfather talking to a pair of adults and heading up the stairs. Katsuya had gone very still, worrying her as she entered the room.

"Katsuya?" Yugi's worried tone brought the scowl that had been aimed towards the stairs down on her. "What's wrong?"

"She brought the damn boyfriend." The other Duelist's hiss told Yugi that this was not a good thing.

"What do we need to know?" The sudden deeper tone and red eyes told him that it was the Spirit of the Puzzle in control, suggesting the Yugis were nervous about this meeting, too.

"The boyfriend doesn't like me." The blonde huffed, shifting between Oneesan and the door downstairs. "He's a salaryman for some big corporation in Tokyo."

Yugi sighed as she took control again, trying to get the Pharaoh to rest. She knew the term. Salarymen lived for their jobs, and that was it. They had a pretty decent, stable income, but no real free time. Domino City had its fair share of them. With Kaiba Corp's Head Office in the city it was impossible to avoid them. Not that they were bad people, but they tended to look down on those who did not seek to live the same way.

"Try and be polite?" Her hopeful tone made her friend sigh and run a hand through his hair. "You don't have to live with the guy."

"You being rude about me already, Jonouchi?" At the sound of the slightly sharp, male voice, Yugi sat up a little straighter and turned to look. A rather smartly dressed, ill-amused looking man who looked like he would be more comfortable in an office than in their living room stepped though the door.

She stood up carefully and bowed politely. "Welcome to our home."

"Thank you for having us, Mutou-san." Yugi recognized the voice before she saw the speaker. Kawai, Jonouchi's birth mother, and her boyfriend were clearly taking this very seriously as they both bowed back to her. "This is my fiancé, Takahara Hoshi."

"A pleasure to meet you." Yugi smiled, trying not to remember that the last time she had met this woman, she had accused her of blackmailing Jou with the money. "I hope to get this sorted with as little fuss as possible."

"Of course," Kawai agreed, her tone a little weary as she stepped aside to let Shizuka past. The girl rushed past her mother and Yugi both to hug her Oniisan tightly. Jou staggered slightly, then wrapped his little sister in a big hug and settled on the sofa with his sister on his lap. Yugi sat next to them in the middle seat with Sugoroku gesturing to the two adults to take a seat before taking up the last seat next to her.

"Mutou-san..." The hesitation in the mother's voice made Yugi aware that the woman was uncomfortable as she sat in the armchair opposite her boyfriend. Suddenly the realization hit her that the Mutous looked like a unified front. With Katsuya on one side of her, Shizuka in his arms, and her Jii-san sat comfortably on her other side, it was clear that they would support her decisions in this meeting and Shizuka would probably join them, whereas the adults who had come to ask for her money were now split up, meaning that they could not conspire in whispers to each other.

It probably looked like a power play to the two newcomers, though it had been entirely accidental.

"The cheque from Industrial Illusions cleared in my bank account on Wednesday," Yugi said calmly but kindly, "which means I now have access to the money to pay for Shizuka's operation."

"If you would just sign it over..." Katsuya's mother tried.

"That's what we're here to talk about." Yugi nodded. "But I didn't want to just sign it over…"

"You want to pay yourself?" Takahara cut her off. "Don't you trust us?"

That was a loaded question and Yugi was not about to rise to it, especially when he had been rude about asking it. "Takahara-san, I help organize the finances of the Kame Game Shop. I am aware how easy it is for vital money to disappear into an unexpected bill or surprise damages. I would much rather either pay it directly to the hospital or sign it into an account that isn't linked to any bills so every last yen can go to Shizuka's operation and medication."

"If you would rather we pay the hospital we can travel down to Tokyo at any point as long as we have a little warning on when it needs to be paid by." Sugoroku backed his granddaughter up. "You have a quote for the operation, but we don't know how much it's going to come to in total with hospital stay and medication. If you would rather have the money to hand yourselves, then if you provide an account for it to go into, we can get the money transferred by the bank."

"We came prepared with the account details for you." Kawai sighed, acknowledging that the Mutous had a point as she handed Yugi an envelope which contained the details she required. "How long would it take to transfer? We need the money before Shizuka's next specialist visit."

"I'll go to the bank tomorrow after school and get the transfer started," the Queen of Games promised the two adults. "Hopefully it should only take a couple of days, but it might take up to five."

"Can't you just write a check? How do we know you're going to transfer it all?" Takahara huffed.

"My bank account doesn't have a check book attached to it. They won't put them on student accounts at the bank I'm with. Regarding my transferring the full amount, you two might not know me, but I made a promise to someone very important to me. I won that money for his Imoto-chan's operation, and I won't back out of that agreement. I promise." Yugi was glad that her family had already discussed this before they had even contacted Kawai, and she tried to remain calm for her friend's sake.

"And what are you to Jonouchi, that you'd give up that much money?" Jou's birth mother demanded. "Did he get you pregnant or something?"

When Yugi's mouth fell open at the question, Katsuya rested his hand on hers, trying to reassure her.

"I can answer this one, Kawai-san." The snap in Jii-san's tone told Yugi her grandfather was furious, which was rather unusual for him but kind of satisfying to her, despite the fact she knew she should not take the jab personally. "But first I need an answer from you. Do you have any sort of custody over Katsuya?"

"No, I had to give it up to get Shizuka, why?" The woman sounded confused. Jou opened his mouth to ask something but Yugi twisted her hand slightly and intertwined her fingers with his, cutting him off.

Takahara got it, though, and sounded surprised as he asked, "You have no male heir, do you?"

Dr. Mutou shook his head. "Yugi has a wonderful head for figures and how the shop is run and will run the shop excellently when I am gone, but you know as well as I do, Takahara-san, that there are a considerable amount of businesses who will not take a young heiress seriously, no matter how competent she is."

Yugi could sense how irritated Oneesan was on her behalf about that. _'That hasn't really changed since your time, Anesan. Which one of us pretended to be their brother to make the guards listen to them?'_

_'Both of us, technically.'_ The Pharaoh's response made her have to turn a laugh into a cough.

Takahara's tone was full business though, as he asked, "Would Jonouchi be heir to the Kame Game Shop or...?"

"I am currently applying for Kangoken," Sugoroku explained, his tone still sharp. "I can't get Shinken because of my age, but I want to give him somewhere safe he can stay. Katsuya has already proved that he can learn the business and that he is loyal to the Mutou family. So should something happen to me, I know I can trust him to assist Yugi in any business matters."

"If you can convince his father, I have no objections to the adoption." Kawai's voice was soft and thoughtful as she sat back to consider his words. "I can't exactly say no under the circumstances, not when you're paying for Shizuka's operation. You basically have custody already anyway. He lives with you, spends most of his time here when he's not in school, and under your tutelage he's got out of the gangs, got his grades up and gotten a part-time job. You've done a much better job than his father ever did. If you want Kangoken for him in exchange for the money for Shizuka, you can have it as far as I'm concerned."

Yugi bit her lower lip and tried not to wince as Jou's hand clenched tightly, crushing her fingers slightly as the woman's words infuriated her friend.

"You seriously gave up all custody of me to Otosan? Even though the courts almost always side with the Okasan?" Katsuya's tone was flatter than Yugi had ever heard it. "And now you're talking like you're selling me? Did you ever want me?"

"I did, but I had the choice of either taking you with me and getting into a messy and costly divorce and possibly not having enough for Shizuka, or getting a quick, easy divorce where I could get Shizuka away from that, that man, and give up all custody of you. I picked the fastest option. With how similar you were to your father, I thought you would be okay." Kawai's words angered her friend further, and Yugi let out a quiet hiss as his grip tightened further.

Jou flinched at the sound and let go, but Sugoroku covered for him by distracting the other two adults. "I would like Shizuka to be able to visit her Oniisan once she is healed from her operation and able to travel, and vice versa. It's only fair considering how much they care about each other."

"I don't want Shizuka to have to travel too often with how fragile her health is. It might not be wise." Kawai shook her head. "I really would rather just get this settled and carry on the way we are."

Yugi could not explain how she knew Katsuya was about to react, but she felt fire and darkness shift and just knew she had to cut him off. Luckily the fact both Kawai and Takahara were focused on Jii-san allowed Yugi to grasp Jou's hand and stop a reaction before it could happen.

_'Imoto. Might I take control?'_ Oneesan's tone was tense. _'She's going to keep baiting him if we don't interfere. I'm not sure if it's deliberate or not, but she needs to stop.'_

Yugi just stepped aside and allowed her older twin to take control. Immediately the air in the room went a little colder and Katsuya's gaze turned down towards his best friend. The blonde highlights informed him that the spirit of the Puzzle had come out to play, though somehow his birth mother and her boyfriend had not noticed.

Before she could say anything though, Shizuka had burst out of her brother's arms and exploded to her feet. "Okasan, he is my Oniisan. He has done anything and everything he could to try to help me. The only thing wrong with my health is my eyes, and that's being fixed soon! Katsuya is one of the most important people in my life, and I am NOT giving him up just because you don't like that he looks like Otosan. That's not fair!"

"Shizuka!" Her mother snapped out, trying to get her to sit back down; however, the auburn haired teen was not having any of it.

"No, Okasan. I know you didn't have any rights to see him, but I did, and you tried to keep us apart," the thirteen year old bit out. "I don't want…"

"Kawai Shizuka. Sit. Down," her mother hissed out, furious. "This is not something to be discussed in front of the Mutous!"

"Why not? They're taking me in," Katsuya pointed out, his tone almost as cold as Kaiba's had been when he had first arrived on Duelist Kingdom. "They're my family, just like Shizuka is."

The deliberate denial of his mother as family was not lost on Kawai and her fiancé, the latter of whom considered the scene before them, then got to his feet. "Can we have a moment? To calm down?"

"Go ahead." Sugoroku nodded. "We'll head into the kitchen."

As the two teens that lived there started towards the kitchen, Shizuka moved to follow them. Her mother, still glaring at the daughter who was acting extremely disobedient, went to grab the girl's arm, but Oneesan planted herself in the way. "I would not recommend you do that."

"She is my daughter," Kawai hissed out, trying to out stare Oneesan.

The Spirit of the Puzzle did not back down. "And Katsuya is your son by blood. They are siblings. Is it really so painful to acknowledge that? Can't you give them ten minutes?"

Kawai's hand rose slightly, like she was going to slap the girl in front of her, then it dropped. "Fine. She can go with him."

The Pharaoh nodded and followed her family through to the kitchen, where Shizuka was trembling as she clung to her older brother and Katsuya was hugging her tightly. Ojiisan hugged Oneesan, who relaxed into the hug and let Yugi back out.

The Duelist hugged her grandfather back, aware that Oneesan probably had not made the situation any better, then turned to start making tea for everyone, including the pair quietly discussing things in the living room.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted." Shizuka's shoulders drooped as she pulled away from her older brother. "That wasn't proper of me."

"It's alright, Kawai…"

"Shizuka," Shizuka cut off Sugoroku. "If you're Katsuya's family, you're mine too. So Shizuka."

"Shizuka is a pretty name." The elderly archaeologist nodded. "And it's okay that you shouted. You're allowed to get angry, as long as you remember that once you're done being angry, you have to rebuild the bridges you burned."

"What if the other side doesn't want to build bridges with you?" Katsuya asked, his hands balled into fists and trembling, causing the old gamer to come and give him a hug next.

"Then we find alternate routes," Yugi suggested as she added cream and honey to the black tea in the mug she was working on and handed it to Shizuka, hoping the sugar would help settle her. "Just because she doesn't want you travelling to see Katsuya, doesn't mean you couldn't visit Domino for example."

"You're feeling wicked." Katsuya blinked at her, surprised by the suggestion of malicious compliance.

"I don't like that she's treating you like this," Yugi admitted slowly, pouring the rest of the tea and making it to everyone else's specifications before pausing, wondering how Kawai and Takahara would like their drinks. When Shizuka took over, well aware of her family's tea preferences, she stepped back and unholstered her deck from the leather pouch by the door, starting to shuffle it to ease her mind. "I was hoping that some of it was stress because of the illness, but…"

"She's made it clear I'm not part of her life," Katsuya hissed out, feeling deflated and upset, "and she doesn't want me to be."

Shizuka hugged her brother again, not really wanting to be parted from him, and Yugi took it as a hint to take the tea in to the other two. She found that in the time it had taken her to pour and prep the tea, they were sat down again, and though Kawai glared at her when she first entered, it was Takahara who spoke first.

"Thank you, Mutou-chan." The business man smiled at her as he took the mug he was offered. "I apologize, your family has been caught up in some really messy business I've been pushing for Sakura to settle for a while."

"If I can ask," Yugi braved as she handed the other mug to Jou's mother, expecting to get slapped for the audacity but wanting the answer to her question, "Why don't you like Katsuya? What did he do? Really?"

The woman stared at her for a moment, her eyes widening as if no one had ever dared to ask her that before, then she sat back into her chair and stared into her tea as if thinking about something that she did not like. "You said you knew about the gangs when you came over before Duelist Kingdom?"

"Uh huh," she agreed, sitting on the arm of the sofa to listen, "and I've met his father, briefly."

Kawai winced, "Jonouchi Katsuya has always been more like his father than any son has comfortably got any right to be. His father… well…"

"Throws bottles at children," Yugi sighed. "I know, but why is that Katsuya's fault?"

"It's… not," the teen's mother admitted, sounding like she did not like admitting it. "But when I wanted to divorce Jonouchi Goro because he was drinking the medication money, he basically forced my hand. Either I could give up Katsuya and he would not chase me for an expensive divorce, or I could take him with me, he'd chase us with lawyers, and because I had all the children, who would be financially responsible for his debts if he couldn't pay, due to them being on the Koseki, I would be on the hook for all his debts, meaning I might not be able to pay for Shizuka's medication."

Yugi let out a soft gasp, stunned that the man could be petty enough to chase his children for debts he had accrued himself.

"Between that and the fact I couldn't look at Katsuya without seeing his father, right down to the explosive temper that occasionally turned violent, I surrendered custody and I left. Once I was gone it was… easier, to just let the resentment build up than blame myself for leaving him there. There was nothing else I could do. Shizuka's medical bills had to come first. Then he got into the gangs and I thought I'd made the right choice." She shook her head and looked at the floor. "You would not believe how happy I was when I heard that he was building a new life with your family. Honestly? I want your Jii-san to get Kangoken. Hell, I'd be happy if he got Shinken. I just don't want…"

She trailed off and shook her head.

"He would protect Shizuka with his life, if that helps?" the Queen of Games offered. When her friend's mother looked up at her, she smiled ruefully. "I know he would. He protected me during the tournament when I got attacked. Yes, he has a temper, I won't deny that, but he is trying to better himself. You said yourself that he's been a better person since we took him in. We're willing to help him get a second chance; can't you try and give him one?"

"It's…" Kawai hesitated.

"Can you just think about it? I… I know how hard it is to have family ripped away from you. I don't want it happening to Katsuya and Shizuka more than it has to." At the Duelist's words, both Kawai and Takahara stared at her, but she did not say anything else, just headed back into the kitchen.

Jou and Shizuka, who had been hovering by the door and heard everything, stepped aside to let her in. Yugi passed them without saying a word and collected her tea, taking a sip for a moment before her grandfather hugged her from behind. "Are you okay?"

She just shook her head, unable to be angry at Kawai for leaving Jou behind if what she had been told was true, but fuming about the fact that Katsuya's father would use his children as weapons against their mother.

"Sorry, Yuge," the blond Duelist sighed as the sounds of his mother and her fiancé talking started up again. "I didn't…"

"You couldn't know. I didn't know." Shizuka shuddered, her tone unhappy. "I'm still mad she wants to keep me from my brother, but Otosan…"

"Is not worthy of you two as children," Oneesan hissed out as she took control, planning to talk to Katsuya about possibly Challenging his father. Shizuka startled at the pitch change and turned to gaze at her.

"Does Yugi have a sister?" Shizuka asked her brother, frowning slightly as she tried to get her poor vision to focus on the girl in question. "Her voice is deeper."

"I… uhh…" Jou looked at Oneesan, who paused for a moment, surprised that Shizuka could tell the difference when most people could not.

"I'm not stupid, Oniisan." Shizuka huffed, irritated. "My eyes might be bad, but my other senses are sharper because of it. I can hear the difference. She was in the living room with us too. Who is that?"

"I'm…" She paused, suddenly aware that she did not actually have a name to give and that fact kind of hurt.

"Meisa." Jii-san spoke firmly, startling both Jonouchi and the Spirit of the Puzzle, scribbling down the name so the two whose vision was good could see the kanji for 'Mei', meaning 'Princess', and 'Sa', meaning 'happiness'. "This is my other magomusume, Mutou Meisa. She doesn't normally like being around people, so she tends to keep to herself."

The Pharaoh stared at him, able to sense her twin's shock and delight as he announced the Puzzle spirit as his second granddaughter, suggesting that Imoto had not been aware that Jii-san was going to offer Oneesan a name of her own, one that he had to have researched to know the kanji off of the top of his head.

Not that she had minded having the others call her Oneesan, but it was a title rather than a name. Yugi was also her name now, since her Imoto had shared her Ren, her true name, with her, but it was not one she could use when someone had pegged her as different from her twin sister, and it had not been hers to start with.

Mutou Meisa might not be her true name, the one she had surrendered to save the world so very many millennia ago, but it was a name that she alone could claim. One that had been given to her by a man she considered her grandfather.

"Nice to meet you, Mutou-san. I didn't realize there was anyone else in the house." Shizuka bowed, glad to have gotten to meet Yugi's sister, but wondering why her brother had not mentioned Meisa during the tapes he had sent.

"Mei…Meisa." She half-bowed back, her voice catching slightly as she said her new given name for the first time. "You can call me Meisa. I'm Yugi no Oneesan."

"Oh! You're the Oneesan Katsuya mentioned. It's nice to meet you, Meisa." The delight in Shizuka's tone matched the happiness in Oneesan's chest. Though Meisa was too new to ring true in Oneesan's mind yet, just the fact she had been given a name of her own made her feel a lot better and distracted her from her previous fury. At least for now.

Then it hit her. Katsuya had told his sister about her. She was supposed to be a secret unless they knew they could trust the person being told about her or they worked it out for themselves. That meant her friend trusted his sister enough to run that risk. It was good to know. They just needed to decide how much to actually tell the girl when they got some time alone with her.

"It's nice to meet you too." The newly named Meisa grinned back, making Katsuya pause as he realized that she really did look more like Yugi when she smiled honestly.

"Mutou-san?" Takahara's voice from the doorway made the group turn to look at him. "I think we're calm enough to talk now."

"We'll be there in a minute," Sugoroku informed the man, who stepped back into the living room.

"I hope you have a better afternoon." Oneesan spoke softly, bowing to the girl. "I'm going to head back to my room."

"Sorry if we disturbed you." Katsuya's sister looked embarrassed as she bowed in return.

"It's fine. See you later." She waved it off, headed for the door, and switched with Yugi on the way out, still mentally bouncing as her twin re-entered the living room.

As the others followed her into the room, Yugi retook her seat on the sofa, and Jii-san and Katsuya rejoined her. Shizuka hesitated for a moment before her mother waved her towards Jonouchi with a sad smile. The girl bounced into her brother's lap and he hugged her tightly as Kawai bit her lower lip for a moment before speaking.

"I have been impolite, and I apologize, Mutou-san." She spoke honestly to Yugi, her voice soft and shaky, as if she was trying to suppress her emotions. "I understand that you do not have to offer us this money, nor do you have to defend my children the way you do. I hope that in the future, we can have a better working relationship as we work towards getting Shizuka's operation out of the way and possibly getting her and her brother together more often."

Yugi heard both siblings let out a shocked noise but she fought to hide her response to the words, not entirely trusting them until she had proof. Still, she smiled and nodded at the words. "I look forward to it. I'll get that transfer sorted as soon as I can tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mutou-san." The woman nodded before hesitating as she looked at her children.

"Do we have to go soon?" Shizuka asked her mother, worried that the two adults would want to leave now.

"Would you like to spend the afternoon with your Oniisan, dear?" her mother offered.

"Really?" She practically bounced at the offer.

"Hoshi and I are going to take a walk around town." Kawai nodded, a little nervous about the offer. "The train back to Tokyo leaves at six, so we will be back about five, okay?"

The hug from her daughter that earned her was answer enough, and the nod, accompanied by a smile that really lit up Katsuya's expression, making him look so much different to the abusive, violent drunk that had made her life so miserable, made guilt twist in her gut.

She had done what was necessary when she had walked away with Shizuka, but the Mutous were giving her a chance to make things up with her son. With Kangoken no longer with her asshole of an ex-husband, she was no longer prevented from visiting him.

That meant that she had a chance to be a mother. She doubted that he wanted her to be after the explosion earlier, but if there was a chance, she wanted to try.

"Hey, Yuge? Let's invite the others over, they'll want to meet my Imoto." Jou grinned at his housemate and friend, who pulled out her phone as the two adults who had accompanied Shizuka headed out for the afternoon, leaving the kids to be kids in the care of Yugi's grandfather.


	5. Questions

It did not take much time for Honda and Anzu to pile over once they were invited. Anzu had the day off of work anyway, and Honda wanted the excuse to escape his family for the afternoon before he could be harassed into babysitting for his cousin again. Once they were there, however, Katsuya realised that he had one small issue.

"Hey, Honda, come into the kitchen with me? I need a hand with drinks." He gestured towards the room in question. Yugi started to get to her feet, since she was one of the hosts here, but Honda shook his head and patted her on the shoulder before following Jou into the kitchen.

"What's u…?" Honda let out a grunt as Jou grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall next to the doorway back into the living room, where the girls could not see them. "What the hell, Jonouchi?"

"Stop flirting with my sister," Katsuya hissed out, trying to keep his voice low after earlier as he glared at the only other guy in the room, not wanting his sister to hear the conversation. "I thought you and Miho…"

"She told me to shove off on Monday." Honda hissed out, batting his friend's hands away before slumping onto a stool by the counter top. "She had a family party last weekend that she wanted me to go to. A whole 'meet the parents' thing."

"And you came to Duelist Kingdom with us instead." Katsuya winced, kind of feeling bad about the end of his friend's seven-month-long kind of, maybe a relationship.

"I told her I needed to go out of town to help a friend." Hiroto's shoulders sank. "Going to a tournament 'to cheer-lead' doesn't count apparently."

"You weren't just a cheerleader." Jou scowled as he slid enough glasses for everyone across the counter towards his friend, who stopped them from falling off the edge. "You helped save Yuge's butt like the rest of us."

Honda snorted, "Oh, yeah, I could totally tell her 'magic is real and I spent the weekend trying to protect my friends from an asshole who wanted to rip their souls out. Oh, and Yugi's 'illness'? That was caused by someone trying to rip her soul apart and her nearly dying, and if I hadn't been there with the others, she might not have made it.' That would have gone down so well."

Katsuya grimaced but could not argue his point. Still… "She dumped you this week, but you're flirting with Shizuka already?"

"I'm…" Hiroto paused to consider his actions and words. "Honestly, if weird shit is going to keep happening, and it probably will considering Bakura's around, I'm not going to be able to date normal people. Shizuka's cute, not taken, and if she starts hanging around the group long enough she's going to find out about things. Magical things. It would be nice to not have to hide things from a date."

The blond ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He got it. He really did. Things had gotten weird around their group of friends since Yugi had solved the Millennium Puzzle, and Shizuka had already worked out that Yugi had a 'sister', so she would probably work out more as time went on. Still…

"Can you hold fire? A least for now? You're probably one of the few people I'd actually trust my sister with, when you're not acting like an ass, but right now…" He shook his head. "There's no guarantee I'm going to be allowed to see Shizuka after today. Okaasan told Yuge that she wanted to try and let me and Shizuka spend more time together, but I've heard that before. There's no point in you even flirting unless Okaasan actually holds to her promises. Considering this afternoon's… mess, I'm half expecting her to block me and the Mutous entirely once the money hits her account."

Honda paused and grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

"Yes, no, maybe? I don't know. Shizuka yelled at Okaasan, and I honestly think Oneesan was about ready to Challenge her, and then Yuge got Okaasan talking, and I finally found out why she left me with Otosan, and I…" Jou trailed off and grimaced as he pulled the cola out of the fridge and slid it across the counter to his right-hand man, who started pouring it out between the glasses.

"You?" Honda pushed.

"I don't know, man." Jou slammed shut the fridge door, which bounced open from the force. He huffed and pushed it closed with his foot. "I'm still mad at her, but… she had her reasons, you know? I'm just… I haven't figured out how I feel yet. I think Oneesan is considering Challenging him. Oh! Right! That reminds me! There's someone to reintroduce you to later."

Honda looked confused at the sudden flip in mood and by who he was talking about, as Jou scooped up the three glasses for the girls and swept back into the living room. Anzu took hers and Yugi's, while Shizuka smiled up at him as she took her own glass.

"Thanks, Katsuya." She nodded and took a sip of the cold drink as Anzu handed the drinks to the correct people. "Are you taking one up to Meisa?"

Confusion passed across Honda and Anzu's faces, but Katsuya looked at Yugi, who grimaced slightly and glanced over her shoulder to where her twin, in ghostly form, was sat on the table, having been observing the small gathering.

 _'Uhhh, Anesan? Should I leave the room and let you take over so you can come back in?'_ the light-souled sister asked the dark one with a tilt of her head.

Before the Spirit of the Puzzle could answer, Ginka strolled into the room from the bedrooms and jumped up onto the table. Meisa shifted slightly to give the cat more room, well aware that normally the feline completely ignored her, only for Ginka to nuzzle her arm. Yugi's eyes widened and the Pharaoh startled as the cat repeated the action and then meowed irritably at her, demanding her attention.

 _'Do you think she can see me?'_ the ghost from the Puzzle asked as she hesitantly reached out. Shock and extreme delight jolted across the bond, briefly stunning Yugi, as the spirit's hand actually came into contact with the soft, fluffy fur.

"Yuge? Do you think your Oneesan will want a drink?" Katsuya's question barely permeated Yugi's mind as she watched her cat's fur move as if a solid person's hand was running through it. "Yuge?"

She startled at the slight sharpness in the second call and glanced back at Jou momentarily, shaking her head, before turning back to watch the scene of the feline curling up next to the person playing with her fur and starting to purr. "I think she took one up with her, but I'll go and check."

Anzu frowned slightly as she noticed Yugi's distraction. She turned to look in the direction that her friend was looking at and let out a soft gasp as she saw what looked like A barely visible, shadowy humanoid shape fluffing up the fur on Ginka, who seemed perfectly content to let them. The noise drew the attention of both Honda and Jou, who glanced that way. Honda frowned slightly as he tried to work out what the others were seeing, but Jou did a double take as he got to see the fur moving but nothing else.

"Katsuya? What's wrong?" Shizuka asked, worried.

"Nothing, nothing." Her brother tried to hide the fact he was weirded out by what he had seen. "Ginka was just being cute."

"The cat?" His sister guessed, having heard the meow.

As her friends started telling the new girl about the various things the feline had gotten up to since Yugi had gotten her, Yugi got up and moved over to the table, where her twin had a look of wonder on her face as she interacted with Ginka.

 _'I can touch her.'_ The Pharaoh's mental voice was soft and fascinated. _'I didn't know I could, but…'_

Yugi drained her drink as she tried to work out what was going on. Then it hit her. In Egyptian mythology cats had been thought to be Emissaries of the Goddess Bastet, Guardians of the Pharaoh, and they had even been depicted in the Book of the Dead, where a cat had represented Ra and the benefits of the sun for life on Earth. More modern stories said that they could see and interact with ghosts. Apparently there was some truth to the latter tales, which made her wonder about the former.

 _'Did you want to say hi to Shizuka and the others?'_ she asked as she reached down and scratched underneath Ginka's chin, only increasing the volume of the purring. _'Anzu and Honda don't know about your new name, after all.'_

 _'Do you mind?'_ the spirit asked, still marvelling at the feel of the soft fur beneath her hand.

 _'Of course not.'_ She shook her head. _'They're your friends, too, and this is big news. You should get to introduce yourself properly.'_

Without another word the Spirit of the Puzzle took over. Ginka huffed and leapt up onto her shoulders, sprawling across them so the Pharaoh could reach up and scratch behind her ear as she moved over to her friends.

"Hi." She felt a little awkward as she stepped into a social situation with a person who knew she was not Yugi, but did not know the full truth of the situation, for the first time.

"Hi." Shizuka smiled broadly, recognising the different tone and pitch. "Your name was Meisa, right?"

"Mutou Meisa, yes." She nodded, bowing to the room in general before looking at her friends to see how they would react. "It's nice to meet you."

Anzu was surprised at the group introduction, since Shizuka was the only one present who hadn't met the Pharaoh before, but she did not say anything about it. She could not help but wonder how it was written, since she knew the 'Mei' part could mean 'Princess,' 'Dark,' or a good many things depending on the kanji that was used. Not that she was sure who had given Yugi no Oneesan a name of her own. She looked forward to hearing the details later.

Honda on the other hand frowned slightly and looked at Jou with a confused look. As far as he had been aware, the Spirit of the Puzzle was either 'Yugi' or 'Oneesan'. Meisa was an entirely new name for the ghost. When Katsuya just grinned, he huffed and sat back with a shrug, hoping to get information.

"Futago no Imoto hasn't been too well, so she's taking a nap," Meisa gave as an excuse for the change over. "Don't worry, it's nothing contagious, but she's really lethargic at the moment. She's hoping to be back before you leave."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Shizuka looked worried. "I hope she feels better soon."

Anzu shifted to give the newly named Meisa a space to sit down, kind of appreciating the fact that she was making an effort to be social despite being socially awkward. The Pharaoh slipped into the seat and hesitated, not entirely sure what to say to the others. She needed to work on the whole being-friendly thing, especially considering that these were the people who had come to assist her in her time of need. However, talking to people who were not her twin was not something that happened often.

"Did you go to Duelist Kingdom?" Shizuka asked curiously, opening up the conversation.

"Uh, yes." The Spirit of the Puzzle nodded as Ginka padded off of her shoulders, paced along the back of the sofa, jumped across to the chair that was being shared by Katsuya and his sister, and planted herself on the younger teen's lap, purring away as the girl pet her fur. "I was helping Imoto and Katsuya from the background."

"So you got to watch the matches? What were they like?"

At Shizuka's urging the Spirit of the Puzzle started describing the duels from an outside perspective, swiftly getting into the swing of storytelling. Anzu could not help but be amused at how much happier the Pharaoh was when talking about games, almost like she did not know what else to talk about. Between Jou's occasional commentary, including a massively overblown version of his duel against Mai, and the occasional sniping from Honda whenever he could insert an amusing anecdote, normally about something to bring Katsuya's ego back down to size, the story flowed easily.

Too easily, in fact. Though Meisa tried to skip over the duel involving the fake Kaiba, Katsuya brought him up, forcing the spirit to think on her feet of how to retell the tales without giving anything else away.

Thankfully, before she could get very far into that duel, the doorbell rang, allowing her to flee the conversation to check who had arrived. Relief sank in as she headed downstairs, kind of glad to be getting away.

 _'You were doing good.'_ She sighed at her twin's comment, not entirely agreeing with it.

 _'I'm glad you think so, Imoto. I was trying.'_ She sent the mental equivalent of a shrug as she reached the bottom and checked the peephole to find that Katsuya's mother and her fiancé had returned. Briefly she considered leaving the pair outside so her friend could get a little longer with his sister, then opened the door.

"Kawai, Takahara." She nodded to them both, noting the way the fiancé bristled slightly at the perceived lack of respect as he entered the stairwell.

"Mutou-san." Kawaii semi-bowed back, subtly elbowing her partner in the ribs so he followed suit, assuming the earlier blow up had soured her host's mood towards her. Not that she could blame the girl. It had not been the best display of their family dynamics.

"Come on in, Shizuka's upstairs still. We lost track of the time," the spirit informed them before heading up, able to sense Imoto's disappointment that time had passed so quickly.

 _'Sorry,'_ she offered, embarrassed that she had taken all of her light's time with her friends.

 _'Don't be sorry, it's good for you to get some time with the others,'_ the living half of their soul disagreed. _'You don't get enough time out of the Puzzle.'_

 _'It's not my life to live. I'm not the living half of our soul. You are. I'm just a ghost.'_ She felt her twin's train of thoughts come to a screeching halt at her words. The two adults headed on upstairs to collect Shizuka as she shut the door.

 _'You know what?'_ Her twin's voice was firm. _'You and I are talking about this later.'_

Meisa did not respond to that. She knew better than to try and dissuade her twin when she was determined about something. As she headed upstairs, she heard their grandfather, who had been sorting something out in his bedroom and letting the kids just chat, talking to the two adults, swapping e-mail addresses and getting the phone number for the hospital Shizuka was going to be going into, so they could keep in contact and find out how everything was going.

She took the opportunity to switch out with her other self, who let out a soft sigh before saying farewell to Shizuka, promising that she would make sure they kept in contact as Kawai herded the girl towards the stairs.

Once the trio were gone, Jii-san turned to Yugi with an exasperated huff. "You two need to be more careful."

"We didn't think she would be able to tell the difference." Yugi held up her hands. "Anesan wanted to talk to Jou, and we thought it would be safe to switch."

The old man looked unamused, but he nodded, "Still, that wasn't how I wanted to tell Meisa the news."

"You came up with the new name?" Honda turned to look at the retired archaeologist, curiosity etched in his features.

"I'd noticed that having no name of her own was upsetting her." He nodded again, sitting on the arm of the sofa. "So I looked into names. My first thought was something to do with the dark because she's Yami no Yugi, then I remembered she doesn't like the darkness, so I looked into names to do with royalty."

"Which is where Meisa came from?" Anzu pressed.

Ojiisan pulled over a piece of paper and a pen and carefully wrote down the kanji so Honda and Anzu could see it. "I know you, Yugi, linked her to your name during the duel with Crawford, and this probably won't change that, unless you can link her soul to her new name?"

"I don't even know how I did it originally." The younger twin grimaced as she sat on the floor next to the coffee table. "I just… Crawford was trying to keep her out of the duel because she had no name, and it made me mad because we're the same soul, which means on a base level we're the same person, so my name is her name. Somehow that resulted in her getting tied to my name magically."

"Would Bakura know how?" Honda's question made everyone pause to think.

"She might," Yugi allowed, thinking out loud. "I need to talk to her anyway regarding the parts of the soul. She did say she would teach me more."

"Before she went to talk to Crawford," Katsuya reminded her with a scowl. "She's been hyper-aggressive since then. She might try something."

"We need to talk to her regarding that, too." The Puzzle Bearer winced, remembering how Amane had thanked her for the invitation but suggested that now might not be the best time. "I'm just trying to work out the best way to do it."

"Please be careful?" Anzu bit her lower lip. "She can be…"

"I know." Yugi flinched, remembering yesterday's blow up. "But we can't settle this unless we talk to her. There's no way that we were told the same thing by Akhenaden, or she wouldn't be… this angry."

 _'Unless she doesn't like that she's wrong about what happened.'_ The Pharaoh's comment made her twin let out a frustrated huff.

 _'That's not helpful, Anesan.'_ The girl flopped back onto the carpet, exasperated. _'You know, the more you two snipe at each other, the worse it's going to get.'_

 _'I don't start it.'_ The older spirit huffed at her. _'You know I don't.'_

"Yugi? Care to share with the class?" her grandfather pressed, causing her to groan and sit up. "Also, is this something that should change my mind on you running the Duel Club?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Ba-Khu-Ra and Anesan haven't gotten along since they met. It doesn't really change anything. Anesan was just pointing out that she doesn't… wait… change your mind?"

He grinned at the switch from frustrated huff to hopeful squeak. "I will need to hire someone to work weekends since you're abandoning me and our student's going to University, but yes, I'm willing to say yes, you can run the Duel Club if you want. As long as you don't let it affect your grades."

The hug that earned him made the thoughts of interviewing new hires and working out the best person to pull into their very small pool of staff totally worth it.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Yugi let go and did a tiny dance before realising she had done so, blushing bright red, and sitting down quickly. Her friends chuckled, pleased to see her so happy.

"You'll need to be straight home on Mondays and Thursdays, though. No more arcade trips on those days," Ojiisan warned her. She had no complaints about that, though. She honestly had not expected to be allowed, and now she had the okay, she was actually excited.

"No problems there." The Duelist grinned, grabbing the folder of details for the club and scanning over it. Noticing that Eiko's page had her mobile number on, she quickly fired off a text to the girl, telling her that she was okayed to run the club, before pausing and considering her phone for another moment.

"Yuge?" Katsuya pressed.

She just waved a hand and fired off a text to Amane, asking if they could arrange a meeting tomorrow night, before putting the phone down on the table. "Checking in with Amane."

"Yugi, I hate to ask, but if you're going to be duelling publicly more often, what are you doing about the trainers-to-boots issue?" Anzu asked with a small, teasing grin.

"The… oh." Her friend winced, remembering that Mai had found out about her Anesan because of the shoe change between what she had been wearing and what her twin's illusion had shown. "I guess I'm going to start wearing the boots."

 _'Sorry.'_ Apology and concern bounced over the link. _'I should have thought. I can adjust my illusion instead.'_

 _'Can we try that? At least for now? Until I break those boots in properly, so they don't kill my feet?'_ Yugi suggested. When she did not get a response, she sighed and looked at Honda and Katsuya. "I know this is a weird question, but I don't suppose either of you know where I could get some chain, like dog-lead thickness chain?"

"Why?" At Honda's frown, Yugi lifted her hair enough to let him see where she had had to retie the rope that held the Puzzle.

"What happened?!" Anzu gasped, darting over to check her friend over, not relaxing until she was sure that the Duelist was unhurt. "You seem okay now."

"A couple of guys tried to mug me for the prize money and nearly took off with my Puzzle, too," the Queen of Games explained as she lowered her hair again, her shoulders sinking. "Anesan dealt with them, but they cut through the rope, so I want something a little more secure so it can't happen again."

Honda, Anzu, and Katsuya looked at each other for a moment, the silent message that perhaps they should not let their friend wander off without them for a while passing between them quickly, before Honda turned back towards Yugi. "I can get you some. I'll bring it to school tomorrow, okay?"

"Thanks."

Honda waved off the gratitude with a grin. "Hey, what are friends for?"

"So, what're your plans for the club?" Anzu tried to push the subject back towards something she knew would make Yugi happy.

As Yugi started listing off plans, the Pharaoh slipped out of the Puzzle and took a seat on the floor next to her twin, leaning against the girl. The Duelist shifted slightly so they were both a little more comfortable, giving Honda and Katsuya the odd image of Yugi leaning slightly on empty air, while Anzu caught a momentary glimpse of the shadowy figure again.

Yugi caught her staring and tilted her head curiously. "Anzu, you okay?"

Before Anzu could answer, her phone started ringing. Picking it up revealed that it was, in fact, her mother, demanding to know whether she was coming home tonight or not. That caused Honda to check the time, and upon realising that it was going on six thirty and he also had to be home for dinner, he too had to head out.

"I'll walk your way home." Honda offered his arm to Anzu, wanting to talk to her away from Yugi and Jou. She rose to her feet and took it, smiling at her other two friends.

"See you two tomorrow." She nodded to the two teens, who smiled and nodded. "Ojiisan, thank you for having us over."

Once they were outside and away from any crowds, Honda turned to Anzu. "So, what were you seeing?"

"Was it that obvious?" The dancer winced.

"They weren't being subtle once it was just us." The former thug sighed. "But you seemed to see more than we did."

"I… I'm still occasionally seeing shadows where there shouldn't be." Her step faltered slightly as she admitted it. "It's less frequent than it was earlier this week, but Onee… Meisa promised it would fade with time so I'm just doing my best to ignore it."

"So where were the shadows you saw today?" Honda's voice went soft, concern for her obvious in his expression.

"I think I was seeing Meisa," she confessed slowly. "First of all there was a shadowy figure petting Ginka, then I saw it again leaning into Yugi."

He stopped to look at her. "You serious?"

"Uh huh." Anzu nodded. "I figure it's Meisa. Who else would Yugi be that comfortable with? I mean, you saw her slightly leaning like the rest of us."

"Point," Honda acknowledged, pausing the conversation until they had safely passed a group who had emerged from a nearby building before continuing. "Still, that's kind of freaky. I didn't think she could interact with the real world when she isn't in control of Yugi's body."

His friend just shrugged, still not entirely okay with the whole thing. "I just want my sight to go back to normal. Oneesan can do whatever she likes afterwards."

Honda nodded slightly, thinking for a moment before asking, "So… what do you think about the 'Meisa' thing?"

"Honestly?" Anzu glanced at him. When he bobbed his head again, she sighed. "It's kind of weird. I get giving her a name, because that's seriously been bothering her. I mean, look how hard she bit at Bakura when she was taunting her about it. At the same time, though, Yugi gave Oneesan access to her name, so she has two names now, and we're going to have to remember which one to refer to her to in front of people."

"Oh, that's simple." The former thug snorted. "Always Yugi unless we're alone, otherwise people are going to think Yugi has multiple personality disorder or something."

"I mean, technically…" The dancer trailed off, but her friend's snort told her that he accepted her point. If Yugi and Meisa were the same soul, then technically they were two personalities from the same person.

"Yeah, but we don't want people knowing that. They'd throw her in a loony bin or insist she got medicated or worse. If things get linked back…" Honda hesitated. "Early Meisa was not the sanest of people."

"I know." Anzu shuddered. "But she's getting better. We've just got to hope it stays that way. I don't want to see anyone else on fire."

Silence fell between them as they walked, the quiet evening sounds occasionally broken up by the tweeting of birds or the occasional shouts of children in backyards or playgrounds. As they reached Anzu's house, she paused for a moment then turned to Honda.

"I want to apologise, for Duelist Kingdom. I shouldn't have gotten caught." She bowed, blushing with embarrassment.

"I…" There was a distinct pause from her friend, then he looked away. "You're not the only one. I ended up in a jail cell. Would have ended up the same way if I hadn't…"

"Hadn't what? How did you get out?" Her eyes widened as she leaned against the wall.

"Bakura." He winced. "She let me out, in exchange for a future favour."

"What kind of favour?" The dancer's voice wavered as she watched the unhappy ex-thug shrug.

"She promised she wouldn't force me to hurt my friends, but that was as much as she'd give me," he admitted. "I didn't exactly have a choice. It was either take her deal, or have my soul ripped out and neither of us get back to the others."

She could not fault him on that. Though she wished he had managed to get more details on the 'favour,' it had been an awful situation, and he had at least gotten a promise that she would not make him hurt his friends. Hopefully, that would mean that Bakura could not use him to attack the others.

"If it makes you feel any better," Anzu offered, "I promise I'll keep an eye out, and if you do anything odd, I'll try to mitigate it. Maybe between us we can at least cut back on how much damage she's going to do."

There was a pause, and then the other teen looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Anzu. I should have guessed I could trust you on this. I would tell Jou, but you know what he's like. He'd probably go and try to punch Bakura and get himself sealed in a game piece."

"Again." Anzu snorted, remembering the Monster World RPG Shadow Game that had nearly killed them all when they had first met Bakura. "You're not wrong. Still, I've got your back at least. And, hey, I'm pretty sure neither Bakura knows that I'm still seeing and hearing stuff, so maybe it would be better if it doesn't fade. It would give us a bit of an advantage."

"You sure you'd be okay with that?" Honda looked surprised.

"If it helps my friends? Then yes," she promised, "though I do wonder one thing."

"What's that?" he asked as she moved away from the wall and opened her gate.

"If I'm still hearing and seeing things and I was the last to get my soul ripped out, I wonder if Ojiisan and Mokuba are too."

With that, she headed inside, leaving him to wonder as he headed home.


	6. Let the Games Begin

Yugi was awake before her alarm the following morning. Nightmares of falling and glittering, broken gold had forced her out of a deep sleep and even as she pulled on her school uniform, she could not shake the undercurrent of unease they had caused.

Still, her older twin had not woken up, so hopefully it had been a nightmare rather than a vision of some kind. As she headed downstairs to sweep the floor of the shop before she headed into school early, she could hear the quiet noises of her friend snoring away, her grandfather's radio alarm clock playing something classical quietly as he came around in bed, and the early morning traffic. After the sheer insanity of the last few weeks, the normalcy of those sounds was entirely welcome and helped to settle her nerves a bit.

Turning on the radio before pulling out the broom gave her something to focus on besides the slowly fading memories of tumbling, broken limbs and the Millennium Puzzle, shattered and scattered. The bright and cheery early morning DJ, who she was certain was probably hyped up on more coffee than was good for him, had a good range of music selected for the, in his words, 'cool, dry autumn morn,' and as she hummed along to a song by Hikaru Utada, she finally felt relaxed enough to contemplate what she was going to be doing today.

Excitement coursed through her as she thought about the upcoming meeting with Yamada-Sensei and Eiko regarding the duelling club. When she had not been able to get back to sleep, she had started listing ideas for things she wanted to do with the club. She also wanted to hear the ideas of the younger student before the meeting, since the club had been the idea of Eiko and her friends in the first place. She did not want to just come in and override them, even if she was going to be Club President, especially when they had only asked her to participate because they had needed to convince the school’s Principle that the club was worth the school's time and sponsorship.

Her mood faltered a little at the reminder that before Duelist Kingdom, before she had become 'Queen of Games', she had not actually been invited to join, even though at least one of the potential club members belonged to her class. She wanted to think that she would have been welcome anyway, but past experience with others at her school reminded her that there was a good chance that they had not actually wanted her there.

 _'Imoto?'_ The drowsy mental voice of the Spirit of the Puzzle, who had woken up because of the swirling emotions and painful thoughts their bond had picked up, made her straighten up slightly and take a deep breath. _'You okay?'_

 _'Yeah, yeah, I'm being silly, that's all. Sorry, Anesan, I didn't mean to wake you.'_ Yugi went back to sweeping, trying to push her emotions back under control and ignore the way her stomach knotted up and her chest constricted painfully at the notion she was not truly welcome.

 _'You realise that we could well have missed the sign-up sheets for the club with everything that was going on?'_ The question made her sigh, realising that no matter how hard she tried, she could not hide anything from her other self.

 _'I know, like I said, I'm being…'_ Yugi trailed off at the pulse of sisterly love and concern that flooded the soul-to-soul connection.

 _'It's not silly, not with your history,'_ the Pharaoh grumbled as she pushed herself out of the Puzzle and sat on the stool behind the counter that their grandfather supposedly never used and yet had never been moved out of the way. _'You've been bullied and made to feel unwelcome by other children for years. It's natural for you to be a little wary of being hurt again, but you can't let it stop you from making more friends.'_

The lighter twin nodded thoughtfully as she kept sweeping. The darker twin was not wrong. Until she had solved the Millennium Puzzle, she had not really had friends. Anzu had been her protector, that was true, but even the dancer had not always been around to stop other kids picking on her. Nor had Anzu always stopped the snide comments and mean pranks that had come Yugi's way from her other friends. It had only been in the last few months, since she had made her wish on the Puzzle, that she had known that she had friends she could rely on, and she had been doing her best to be reliable for them in turn.

This was really the first time she had stepped outside of that group of friends except for Mai, who had been her idol when it came to duelling for ages, and Amane, whom she wanted to be friends with both because it 'felt right' and because the other girl needed all the support she could get regarding the Spirit of the Ring.

As if thinking about her was a method of summoning her, there was a knock on the door, and when she turned to look, she found her friend was there, waving at her and looking a little embarrassed.

She unlocked the shop door long enough to let the Ring Bearer inside and then relocked it, before turning to her. "Hi, Amane, you okay?"

"Don't suppose I can get a look at your maths homework?" the part-English girl asked sheepishly. "Mine might have ended up shredded."

"Do I want to know how?" Yugi asked as she pulled her school bag out from behind the counter and passed the homework in question to her friend, who went to settle on the stool Meisa was sat on, paused, and then settled for leaning over the wooden surface instead to get working.

"Considering the answer is Voice, probably not." The other girl snorted, remembering her dark half's anger fit after school on Saturday, which had caused her to require not only a new copy of the homework to work from, but a replacement bag and pencil case too.

The Puzzle Bearer winced. "Ah, that would be why you didn't come over yesterday, then?"

Amane just nodded, trying to work out if the answers to the problems on the sheet were in fact the same as the answers Yugi had written down and, where she was getting different answers, double-checking them to see whose was right.

By the time Yugi had finished sweeping the floor, Meisa had slipped back into the Puzzle and Amane had finished her sheet. When Yugi looked over, she was grimacing at her friend's answers. "Umm, Yugi?"

The girl in question came over and checked the answers that she had against Amane's, realising that only about eighty percent of them matched up. "Oof."

"Do you want to redo it? I can help," the holder of the Millennium Ring offered.

"Don't have time," Yugi huffed, resigned to a semi-decent score rather than an excellent one. "I've got a meeting at the school regarding the duel club."

"I forgot that was today." Yugi glanced at Amane when her tone wavered slightly, noting the unhappy expression on her friend's face. "I was hoping we could talk while Ba-Khu-Ra was asleep."

"Walk with me?" Yugi offered as she put her homework back in her bag and shouldered her backpack. "We can talk on the way."

"In the open?" Amane's eyes widened. "Where others can hear us?"

"There's going to be barely anyone around. Besides, that way if Ba-Khu-Ra does wake up, there's people to hear me scream." Her tone was teasing, but her friend's expression told her she did not appreciate it. "I'm joking, honest. If she wakes up, I'll let Anesan take over and get out the way, promise."

She saw the Ring Bearer relax a little at that, and as they headed out, she gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

"I…I'm fine, but I think we need to talk, between us, before our other selves go at it again," Amane sighed, "because I'm pretty sure we don't have the same story."

"I kind of figured," the Puzzle Bearer admitted, looking uncomfortable. "Akhenaden said he was telling the truth, but…"

"He tried to kill you." Amane pursed her lips when Yugi nodded. "So… what did he tell you?"

"According to him, Ba-Khu-Ra wanted to overthrow the royal family, used Anesan to do it," the Queen of Games sighed, "and turned on her once Anesan was the last one left."

Irritation flickered through Amane as her theory about the Spirit of the Eye was confirmed. "He told Ba-Khu-Ra something entirely different."

"Oh?" Yugi asked, having been certain that was the case.

"The Pharaoh betrayed her," Amane started, watching Yugi's expression closely and noting the frustration and lack of surprise. "Apparently Ba-Khu-Ra had claims against Akhenaden, and your twin used them to help her get rid of him before she stabbed her in the back. Made it look like she tried to assassinate the Pharaoh so she could send men to kill her once she no longer needed her."

"So he completely and utterly lied to one or both of us of us, and we don't know which." Yugi huffed as they turned to go through the small market street that led to their school and was just setting up for the day.

"We can't. Not without someone who was there being able to verify." Amane shrugged, irritated by that fact. "Oneesan and Ba-Khu-Ra don't count because the Pharaoh doesn't remember and Ba-Khu-Ra only remembers being sent out on a mission and nearly getting killed by your men after Akhenaden was taken down. We can't even get any more information. Akhenaden was the only person around who actually knew what happened, and he's…"

She trailed off as they passed a shopkeeper who was pulling the awning out over her entrance way. Yugi could guess what she had been going to say though. Bakura had gone after Crawford, and no one had seen him since. It was not hard to guess that she had done something to one or both of the men. In fact she probably had the Millennium Eye stashed away somewhere.

 _'Actually, there might be a way of finding out a little more.'_ Amane startled as her other self spoke, having thought that the Thief Queen was asleep. _'The Dark Magician should have information.'_

 _'How?'_ Amane frowned, ignoring the curious look she was getting from her friend.

 _'When I killed the Pharaoh's right hand man, Mahad, he merged his soul with his Ka beast and became the Dark Magician, specifically the royal purple Dark Magician.'_ Amusement flooded through the Thief Queen at her landlord's shock. _'He looked the same as the Dark Magician in Yugi's deck.'_

 _'Okay, I have so many questions and I am asking all of them later,'_ Amane squeaked back, wondering how on earth that was possible and if other Duel Monsters had souls attached to them. _'But you're saying, if we can summon the Dark Magician, we might be able to hear more about what happened?'_

 _'Yeap. You just need to convince the Runt of it and stand back. He never liked me, even before I killed him, and I don't want you hurt.'_ The admission of it made Amane smile slightly, feeling safer about the spirit that regularly possessed her.

"Yugi? How good are you at summoning right now?" she asked, confusing her friend. "Have you practiced at all since you called up that Kuriboh?"

"No, I've been too tired, why?"

When Yugi tilted her head, curious as to where Amane was going with this, the Ring Bearer grinned slightly. "Bakura told me you had a Dark Magician in Egypt, so if he's the same one, he might have some information."

The Duelist paused to consider that. "Okay, that… I want to know more about that later, but I could probably summon him. I probably shouldn't do it before school though, in case it knocks me out again."

"Tonight?" Amane suggested. "Maybe at your place?"

"Sure," Yugi agreed, wanting information as much as everyone else involved in the whole mess. She did not get to say much more though, as she spotted Eiko waiting by the gates for her. "Meet me at the shop after the store closes?"

Amane nodded and gestured for Yugi to go on ahead.

Her friend took the chance, her head swirling with questions as she waved to the younger, black-haired, green-eyed student. Amane could feel the amusement of her other self flow through their link. _'What?'_

 _'Not telling her the whole truth, little light?'_ the Spirit of the Ring pressed.

 _'I don't know the full truth, not yet. You're going to tell me before I meet up with her tonight so I can explain properly,'_ the Ring Bearer huffed.

 _'And why would I do that?'_ Ba-Khu-Ra taunted as the Puzzle Bearer entered the school with her new friend.

 _'Because you want the information as much as I do, and I'll talk Yugi out of it if you don't tell me,'_ the living half of the Thief Queen threatened.

Surprise hit first and then proud amusement curled through her, before her dark half chuckled. _'You're learning, little light. Bargaining and threatening me is a dangerous game, but you're beginning to dare. I'm kind of proud.'_

_'My name is Amane; you may use it. And, yes, I'm learning. I'm not going to be pushed around by you for the entire time you're in my head.'_

With that the Ring Bearer also entered the facility.

* * *

Two corridors over, Eiko excitedly grinned at Yugi as they headed for the classroom they were meeting Yamada-Sensei in. "I'm so glad you can help. I wanted to ask when the idea first came up, but you seemed so stressed, I didn't want to add to it."

The Queen of Games ran a hand through her hair, looking sheepish as the knot that had formed in her stomach earlier loosened up. "I kind of missed everything else going on while Jii-san was in the hospital. Sorry."

"It's okay." The younger girl shrugged. "You're okay now, though, right?"

"Yeap." Yugi nodded. "So, plans for the club?"

"I have a couple of ideas, like deck building and mini-tournaments against each other, but you taught Jonouchi in like two weeks, didn't you?" Eiko asked, her question stemming from the rumours that had been going around that the Semi-Finalist, who had nearly defeated Kaiba Seto if the Duel Records were anything to go by, had been taught how to duel by the Queen of Games just before Duelist Kingdom.

"I did, but he was willing to listen, we were at it every single free moment of the day, and he didn't have many bad habits to unlearn because he had just started." The more experienced Duelist nodded. "It'll take longer for me to be able to work with the club members because we'll only have three hours a week."

"Ah." Eiko's shoulders sank as they headed up to the third floor, where Yamada's classroom was, having had visions of having a professional duelling team for Domino High in a couple of weeks.

"I do have plans that will help, though," Yugi reassured her, handing over the notes she had made this morning. Watching the other girl's expression light up as she read through them all made her morning that much better, and as they reached the classroom, the younger student seemed much more hopeful. "It's mostly going to depend on whether people take it seriously or not."

"Let's hope this is convincing enough for Sensei at least." Seconds after Eiko knocked on the door, the pair of them were called in.

Yugi took a deep breath and stepped into the classroom. Yamada-Sensei, the sponsoring teacher, was waiting for them as they bowed. A younger man with sharp features and narrowed brown eyes looked the pair of them up and down and then held out his hand for Yugi's folder.

"So, they talked you into this, Mutou-san." He looked semi-amused as he handed her the school club rules, took her plans, and leafed through them.

"Yes, Sensei." She nodded, scanning the sheets and becoming relieved when there was nothing unreasonable on it. "I have managed to rearrange my shop shifts so I can take on the duelling club and run it efficiently."

"And you'll be available to coach the inter-school team at tournaments, right?" he asked as he continued to read.

"Coach?" Yugi frowned, having thought she would be able to compete alongside them if they started duelling other schools.

Eiko looked confused as the teacher paused in his reading and handed her a sheet of paper, one that apparently had the rules and regulations on for the School Duel League. Yugi had not even known there was a School Duel League, let alone the established rules for it.

"The Duel League started a couple of years ago, and it was dominated by Insector Haga and Dinosaur Ryuzaki, so they changed the rules this year. Unfortunately, it happens to coincide with the first year that Domino High is competing," Yamada-Sensei explained. "You might want to read rule four."

She glanced down the list and flinched when she read the rule in question. 'Internationally ranked Duelists will not be allowed to compete in City Level League Duels. A school may put up to two internationally ranked Duelists in their teams for National Competitions as long as those Duelists are registered students at the school and have an attendance of more than eighty five percent.'

"Oh…" Her shoulders sank as she realized what that meant. She would not be able to compete unless her team made it to the Nationals.

"As the World Champion, you're internationally ranked." The teacher watched her carefully, able to see her disappointment and noting that she glanced at Eiko, wondering if the girl had been aware of the rule before she had asked. "Are you still okay to run the club?"

"Y…Yes." Just because she could not compete until Nationals did not mean that she could not duel against other members of the club. Plus, if she was able to get her first year team up to the national level, then she would be doing them a favor too. Besides, from the pale skin tone and apologetic look Eiko was giving her, there was a good chance she had not known about the rule change.

It did not mean that she was not disappointed, and she felt her twin rest spectral hands on her shoulders, sympathy flooding the bond.

"Good. I'll get us registered with the school. Your first club session is tonight, correct?" Yugi and Eiko nodded. "Do you have any questions?"

"If I bring in anything from home, will there be anywhere safe to store it?" Yugi asked, thinking of what she would need for her plans.

"You'll have a small budget allocated to the club for purchasing equipment and a locker in the club room for the most valuable club things." He handed Yugi a set of keys. "There's one for your club room, one for the locker within, and another for the safe for club cash funds. I'm sure Eiko will be able to show you to the club room that I've managed to secure for you. You're lucky that the Go Club closed due to lack of interest so there was a free room. The list of rules on how you're allowed to use the room will be on the table in your new club room. I'll be able to give you details this afternoon regarding budget, and you'll need a Club Secretary in order to manage it. That will need to be organized amongst yourselves, and I expect it to be done by the time I get there. Your family runs the Kame Game Shop, right?"

"That's right." Yugi nodded.

"If the shop wants to sponsor the club, they will need to fill out the correct forms, which will be available from the office. It won't be able to provide monetary sponsorship without going through official channels, but if you bring anything from home for free, then that will be fine. Also, between you all, you need to come up with a club name, or you'll be known as Domino High Dueling Club, and I'm sure you can think of something better."

"Yes, Sensei." Eiko grinned, happy that they had their keys and confirmation that they could run. "May we go now?"

"Yes, yes." The teacher waved them off. "You'll need to check out the room before the school bell rings."

The younger student grabbed Yugi's arm and dragged her out of the classroom and down the hall towards the club rooms. For a moment Yugi was unsure how they were supposed to tell which room was theirs, since most of them had the same wooden frame with glass panels in the middle. Then she spotted that room seven had a Duel Monsters card, specifically a Kuriboh, balancing in the window and headed over to that door.

The biggest key in the set the teacher had handed her fit the lock in the door perfectly, and as she pushed the door open she heard Eiko let out a delighted squeak. The room inside was not huge, only big enough for possibly fifteen to twenty people at a long, rectangular table, but it would be large enough for their needs. At the back of the room were huge windows that looked out over the school's athletics track, that opened just enough to allow fresh air in, blowing away the bleach smell from the cleaners. There was also a large locker, that, when opened, had multiple shelves inside for the club's equipment, along with a safe at the bottom. Yugi could not help but feel, as she shut the door, that she was glad for the shelves because it meant she could not be locked in there, unlike her normal locker.

Checking the table for the club room rules, she found the list in question, which laid out that they could paint the walls as long as they were white again if the club folded, posters were allowed as long as they were white tacked to the walls, rather than pinned, and furniture was allowed to be brought in, as long as, again, it was gone if the club folded. Printed in red was the warning that if a club was caught misusing the room, it would be disbanded and everything in the club room would need to be removed within twenty-four hours.

"So what do you think?" Eiko grinned at Yugi, interrupting her as she read through what classified as misuse.

"It's going to be brilliant." Yugi smiled back, already considering going to the art club to get some artwork for the walls and mentally cycling through the game release posters that she could bring in from the shop.

The warning bell went off, giving them notice that they had fifteen minutes to get to class before they were late, making them both jump. Yugi quickly scribbled down a note that this was the Duelling Club room on the first available piece of paper out of her bag, planning to make a better sign once they had a proper club name, and put it up in the window in the door, so the others would know where they needed to go later, and put the rules list in the backpack, ready for reading through later.

"See you later, Yugi-kun." Eiko slipped out of the room as Yugi waved over her shoulder at the younger student. The Queen of Games quickly made sure that the locker and the windows were shut tightly and was about to lock up the room when Otogi slipped in.

"Hi!" Yugi grinned at him, still buzzing from all the plans she had for the room, plans that had to be ratified by the rest of the room, but exciting plans, nonetheless.

"Hey, how're you feeling today?" he asked, shutting the door behind him and blocking her exit. Instantly Yugi, who was far too used to getting cornered by bullies and getting beaten up, started looking for escape routes, nervousness kicking in when she realised the only route out of this room was, in fact, the door, unless she wanted to break the windows and fall two stories.

 _'Easy, Imoto.'_ Her twin's firm tone and self-confidence allowed her to take a breath and calm herself down. _'He's not an enemy.'_

The Spirit of the Puzzle did not add the 'yet' that was floating in her mind to the sentence, knowing it would not help her twin. She did, however, step up to the exchange point, ready to take over in a flash if she was needed as Imoto offered a smaller smile as she shrugged. "I'm okay."

"You sure? Because you were pretty badly hurt on Saturday." His tone was still concerned, but Yugi could not help but mentally grimace as she tried to think of an excuse.

"Minor concussion," she lied, trying to cover up the massive use of magic. "A couple of night's sleep and I was fine."

"Mutou…" There was a moment's hesitation, and then Otogi took a deep breath. "You don't have to hide it from me. You have magic, don't you?"

"What? No!" She shook her head vehemently, backing up slightly, remembering the last few people who had come to her openly talking about magic, like Imori, Ba-Khu-Ra, and Crawford.

"Mutou, don't. I'm sure by now your Ojiisan's told you about the cursed game he got into with my Otosan. I've known about magic since I was three." The tall teen huffed. When she did not respond, his shoulders sank. "I told you, I want to get to know you and have a better relationship with you. I'm not going to judge you for healing yourself with magic. If I had it and got into a fight, I would too."

"A…Are you going to tell anyone?" the Queen of Games questioned, her voice wavering slightly.

"No." The firm reply both reassured and confused Yugi. "There'd be no point. First off, no one would believe me. Secondly, that would break your trust, and how would that help us get along?"

He had a point.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, I healed myself. I had to. I'd have ended up in the hospital if I hadn't."

He nodded, grimacing. "Let me walk you back to class so your classmates don't get a chance to jump you again?"

"Sure." She was surprised at the offer but headed for the door as the second warning bell went, giving them a ten-minute warning for class start. She paused as she reached the door and smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He offered his arm and, blushing, she took it. Locking up the club room behind her with a small smile, she put the keys in the inside pocket of her school jacket for safety and headed downstairs.

"So, duelling club?" Otogi asked, sounding curious.

"Yeap. It's going to be a lot of fun." Yugi practically bounced as she walked, unbelievably happy about the way things had gone. "I have so many plans. There's no way we're not going to kick butt in the school league."

"I look forward to seeing it. Or maybe I could join in?" At the teen's question, Yugi paused to look at him. "Duel Monsters isn't normally my game, but I wouldn't mind getting to know certain people better."

The way he looked at her when he said that made her blush and look at the ground, causing her to miss the pleased smirk as they reached the classroom.

"Hey, Yuge." Katsuya's voice caused her head to snap up, but she did not get to say anything to her friend. The arm her hand was on shifted and suddenly her wrist had been grabbed and she was being spun. Before she could get her bearings, she was pressed against the wall, one wrist pinned by her side, Otogi's warm body pushed up against hers as the much taller, stronger teen kissed her, right there and then with no warning.

Meisa took control and went to push Otogi back using her magic, only for Katsuya to grab him from behind and drag him backwards.

"Don't worry, Yuge. I got this," he promised, then dragged Otogi into the boys' restroom a little down the hallway.

The Spirit of the Puzzle huffed, able to sense her twin was confused by what had just happened, but not entirely unhappy. Trusting Katsuya to remind Otogi to ask before he pulled a stunt like that again, she entered the classroom, noting the dirty looks she was getting from some of the female students.

* * *

Inside the bathroom Katsuya pushed Otogi into the middle of the room and blocked the exit. "The hell are you playing at?"

"What's the matter?" the black-haired teen asked the blonde with a smug grin. "Jealous?"

"What? No." The Duelist huffed, not admitting to the way his stomach had tied itself into knots and jumped up into his throat when he had seen Otogi's actions. "She's my friend, and you'd do well to treat her with the respect she deserves, asshole."

"What makes you think I'm not?" The game shop heir snorted, crossing his arms. "I've not hurt her, and she didn't try to push me away. If she had, I'd have backed off."

"I don't know what your game is," Katsuya huffed as the third warning bell went off, giving them a five-minute warning, "but if you hurt her, I'm going to punch your lights out."

"You realize I could ruin you?" Otogi asked, watching the other teen with a raised eyebrow. "A word or two in the right ear, a little money in the right places, and you'd be kicked out of school. Where do you think you'd go then?"

Jou froze. Domino High was one of only two schools he could get into with his available funds and background. The other was Rintama, and he never, ever wanted to go back there. He could be damn certain that if he did, he would be lucky not to get his head caved in after what had happened with Hirutani.

"Better yet..." The malicious pleasure in Otogi's voice ground on Katsuya's nerves. "What would the Mutous think? They would never want you back in their house again if I went to the police and said you'd assaulted me."

Fear pulsed through the Duelist at that. He did not think the Mutous would kick him out without hearing his side of the story, but it had been made clear that if he got into trouble, Doctor Mutou would be unable to get Kangoken. If that happened Jou would have to go back to his father and would probably lose the rights to see his Imoto.

"Understand this, Jonouchi." The black haired teen's voice was dark and amused. "Stand in the way, and I will rip away absolutely everything you care about."

"Yugi won't…" Jou started.

"Yugi won't do anything, because you're not going to tell her. If you do? If you turn her against me? I'll not only ruin you, I'll buy out the ground the Kame Game Shop stands on and bulldoze the shop. The Mutous will lose everything too. They'll both be left homeless and destitute." Otogi cut him off. "And I have the money to do it, Jonouchi. Don't think I don't."

Katsuya's hands balled into fists momentarily, and he felt shadows flare up around him as his anger burned hot. Then Otogi chuckled, making the Duelist realise that this reaction was exactly what the prick was looking for. He forced himself to calm down, noting that the shadows died down as he got control over himself.

"That's right." The Black Clown heir smirked as Jou's hands unballed. "You can't beat me, so don't even try."

The blonde did not justify him with a response. Instead he just stepped aside to let the other teen leave.

"Remember, Jonouchi," Otogi paused to taunt him on his way out, "I'm only interested in ruining one person's life, and it's not yours or Yugi's. Interfere, and everything comes crashing down around your ears."

With that he stalked out of the bathroom, leaving Jou to stew over what had been said.

He could not risk Yugi finding out. He did not want the Mutous to lose everything they worked so hard to maintain. That did not mean that there were not other avenues he could explore.

With Honda and Anzu at his back, he was pretty sure he could mess up all of Otogi's plans, and if worst came to worst?

There was always Ba-Khu-Ra.

After all, the Thief Queen had always been very clear on one thing. No one got to mess with Yugi except her.


	7. Shattered Heart

_'Anesan?'_ Yugi, who had retaken control when she had gotten to her seat, quietly asked over the bond as she felt her older sister snap to attention and mentally turn towards the bathroom.

_'I need to check something.'_ Without another word the Pharaoh took the ghostly form and moved towards the bathroom. Yugi watched her phase through the wall and tried not to frown, since no one else would know what she was looking at.

_'What's wrong?'_ She pestered her twin, wondering what the Pharaoh had sensed that she had not.

_'I thought I sensed Shadows.'_ Meisa informed her, _'But the only one around is Katsuya.'_

The teen in question looked stressed as he entered the classroom and Yugi's heart dropped when he would not look at her. She tried to get his attention, to ask what had happened, but he blanked her and headed straight for his seat, where he started quietly grumbling to Honda.

Yugi could not help but be worried that he was mad about what had happened between her and Otogi. She had not planned for the other teen to kiss her, and while she was not entirely comfortable with his actions, it certainly had not been as objectionable as the kiss Hirutani had forced on her. She would prefer to get to know Otogi better before it happened again, but if her friends got angry at her about it, maybe it was better if she stayed away from the other shop owner.

She felt the Pharaoh return to her place within the Puzzle and sighed, aware that her twin did not trust the new guy either. Not that it was an entirely unusual state of affairs. The older twin was highly protective of her, so anyone new who wanted to get close to her had to earn the Pharaoh's trust before the spirit would relax around them.

She did not really mind. Anesan was only looking out for her, and it was a level of protection from people who wanted to hurt her that she had not had before. However, as the Sensei walked in, she could not help but wonder what her friends were seeing about Otogi that she had missed.

Her nervousness did not improve when halfway through the morning, while the teacher's back was turned, a note went flying across the room from Honda's table to Anzu's. When the dancer read it, she glanced at Yugi, then pursed her lips and looked at Honda before nodding slightly.

_'Okay, now I know something is up,'_ the Queen of Games whispered to her dark half, who separated out from her living half and tried to see at the note on Anzu's desk, only to find that the girl swept it off the desk into her bag before she could get a look. Anzu did glance up, startling the Pharaoh as she mouthed, 'later,' while directly looking at her.

The surprise from that hit Yugi hard, making her turn quickly enough to look over that her chair scraped on the floor, causing the teacher to turn around to tell her off. She ducked her head, pretending to focus on the classwork so she did not get detention and miss the first duelling club meeting.

Now aware that she was not necessarily as invisible as she was used to being, the Pharaoh contemplated seeing if she could listen in on Katsuya and Honda's conversations and decided against it. Trusting Anzu to keep her word regarding telling her later, she returned to the Puzzle to reassure her twin. _'Sorry for making you jump. Anzu saw me. I didn't realize she could, or I would have been prepared for it. She promised she would tell us what's going on later, so I doubt they're mad at you.'_

She felt the worry inside her Imoto fade away at that. She knew Akhenaden's words still bounced around her younger twin's head. The threat that all of her friends would abandon her now they had what they wanted out of her frequently tormented the light-soulled girl, who was almost as afraid of being alone again as her dark-soulled twin was. Not that their friends knew that. While Katsuya and Kaiba, of all people, had heard Akhenaden's snap after the duel, the blonde seemed to think that Imoto had shrugged it off, while Kaiba had not actually been to school since Duelist Kingdom, so they had not had a chance to talk to him.

Not that they particularly wanted to talk to the former World Champion, but both she and Imoto were fully aware that Kaiba had wanted to discuss 'payment' for their assistance during Duelist Kingdom, and she could not help but wonder if the CEO had forgotten. Not that it mattered right now, when their friends were acting so weird.

When the lunch bell rang, Katsuya, Anzu, and Honda shot out of the classroom before Yugi could get further than getting to her feet. The Spirit of the Puzzle followed them, able to ghost through walls and people to keep up, but Yugi quickly lost them in the lunch rush between the time it took her to get out of the classroom and into the hallway full of students on their way to the canteen.

The smaller teen tried her best to catch up with the others, darting and weaving between her schoolmates, wanting to catch up so she could find out why her friends were acting so oddly, but only made it as far as a couple of classrooms down before she was barged into hard enough to go tumbling into the wall, where someone grabbed her hair and yanked her into the girls' bathroom.

* * *

The three teens and the ghost chasing them slipped outside, to somewhere they could talk privately, and then and only then did they stop.

"Okay, I think we lost Yugi." Honda grimaced, not particularly happy about having to do so.

Anzu's eyes flickered briefly over towards the shadowy specter who was leaning against the nearest wall, watching them, then nodded. "She's probably back near the classrooms, so what's this about?"

"Before I start, you can't tell Yuge." Katsuya ran a hand through his hair, worry clear in every millimeter of his body language. "Not yet anyway."

Meisa frowned slightly as Anzu gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"Because if that… that asshole finds out she knows, he's going to ruin her and Jii-san." Jou's fist slammed into the wall.

The Spirit of the Puzzle scowled at that, unhappy about someone threatening her family, as Honda cussed and Anzu let out a soft sigh.

"I promise. Who is it? Kaiba again?" the dancer asked, her tapping foot the only sign of her irritation as she watched the shadowy form of the Spirit of the Puzzle straighten suddenly and turn towards the school entrance but not move otherwise.

"No, Otogi." The duelist shook his head, his tone full of venom. "He's up to something and he needs Yugi for it."

"What did he say exactly?" Honda pressed, thinking.

"He wants to ruin someone's life, and apparently it's not mine or Yugi's," he huffed, "but he threatened to get me kicked out of school and in trouble with the cops if I interfere, and if I turn Yuge against him, he's going to screw her and Jii-san too. Apparently he's a rich prick and he knows how to use it."

"Okay, so do we know who he's trying to ruin?" Anzu pressed. "I mean, the only person we know who's rich and regularly antagonizes people is Kaiba, and…"

"It's Jii-san," Jou growled. "I'm pretty damn certain that Otogi's trying to mess with him through Yugi."

"Why would he mess with Ojiisan?" his right-hand huffed, pacing up and down, trying to think.

"Jii-san told me that he and Otogi's Otosan don't get on," he shared, still wishing he had an idea of how to deal with the asshole, "and Otogi's been buying Yuge gifts. Expensive gifts. That N64 in the living room?"

"He bought that?" Anzu squeaked, aware of how expensive games consoles were.

"Yeah. I'm thinking he's trying to get Yuge to like him so he can mess with Jii-san through her."

Anzu and Honda did not respond to that right away. It would make sense, and both of them were fully aware that the Mutous would do anything for each other. If Otogi messed with his granddaughter, it would upset Ojiisan greatly.

"And why can't we tell Yugi?" Honda snorted. "If he's going to mess with her and Ojiisan anyway?"

"Because there's a difference between messing with them and Otogi buying out the land the shop stands on and having the shop bulldozed." Both Anzu and Honda winced as Jou spat that out.

"Domino City belongs to Kaiba Corp," Anzu said slowly, thinking out loud, "so if he wants to buy it out from under the Mutous, he'd have to speak with Kaiba."

Jou ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, and Rich-Boy hates Yuge."

"Kaiba owes Yugi a favour," Honda corrected Jou. "If we tell him what Otogi is up to, he's probably going to intervene, at least on that front, if only because he currently owes her for saving Mokuba's soul, right Anzu?"

Anzu did not answer, having been distracted by the Spirit of the Puzzle turning, looking at her and saying something, not that she could hear what, and then taking two steps towards the school before vanishing. "We need to get inside."

"What? Why?" Katsuya frowned, confused.

"Because something is wrong with Yugi." Anzu started in the direction of the doors.

Honda, who was aware she could sometimes see the Spirit of the Puzzle, suddenly realized that the blank spot on the wall Anzu had been keeping an eye on was in fact the ghostly half of their friend and started shoving Jou towards the doors. If Anzu was following Meisa inside, it was likely urgent.

Katsuya, a little out of the loop and rather confused, wisely just followed.

* * *

_'Imoto!'_ Yugi heard her twin's worried call as the pain of being yanked about by her hair spiked through her and sensed the spirit was ready to jump back to her and take over but mentally shook her head.

_'Stay with the others,'_ she managed to send across the bond before she was shoved from behind by whoever had grabbed her, causing her to stumble into the sinks. Her hip collided painfully with the ceramic before she bounced off, landing on the ground.

_'You sure?'_ Worry, protectiveness, and anger pulsed along the bond as Meisa's desire to guard Yugi from harm warred with the younger twin's order to stay with their friends.

_'We need to know what's going on.'_ The light-soulled girl tried to sound firm, despite the fact she was shaking physically as she stared at the ground, knowing far too well from far too many previous bullying incidents that if she looked directly at her attackers, they would consider it an act of defiance and make this so much worse then it had to be. _'Anzu…'_

She cried out as suddenly a heavy, wide, high-heeled boot drove into her left ankle, hard, and pain seared through it. She tried to shuffle back, away from the girls, only to get dragged painfully to her feet by the biggest of them and slammed against the lavatory door.

_'Anesan. Don't…don't come back yet.'_ The weight on her injured limb hurt drastically, but she tried not to show it. Having suffered worse in the Shadows against Pegasus, she found it easier than it once had been, clearly disappointing the heavy-set, brown-haired girl holding her in place and the tall, willowy, dark-haired girl that Yugi recognized as being from the classroom one over from hers and had been in the corridor when Otogi had kissed her this morning.

"Listen, slut." The willowy girl was clearly the ringleader, as she gestured and a third girl deliberately spread water over the floor, making it look like she had slipped. "Otogi is mine. I've already claimed him. Whatever you have with him, this ends now."

"I…" The Queen of Games did not get to speak before a fist drove into her stomach, winding her.

"I don't care what you have to say, Mutou." As she gasped for air, she felt her twin return to the Puzzle. She pushed back at the angry spirit, preventing her from grabbing control, not wanting to have to explain how these girls had gone nuts, even if it was in her defense. "Keep trying to steal Otogi from me, and I'll spread it around that you've been sleeping with him to get gifts."

Confusion pulsed through Yugi, then her eyes widened as she remembered that the willowy girl had been amongst those stood outside the clothes store next door when Otogi had brought her home on Saturday and dropped the huge bag of gifts off. "I haven't…"

A second blow to her stomach caused her to cough and gasp, breaking up any denials she could make and shattering her focus. The Spirit of the Puzzle seized control, deciding that this ended now, and she managed to break the bigger girl's grip by applying pressure to the right points on her wrists.

It was partly a mistake. The sudden need to put all of her weight on her feet caused the injured ankle to try to buckle, forcing her to try and catch herself as she tumbled. She managed to slip out from under the huge girl's attempts to re-grab her because of that, though, and was just starting to weave a Shadow Game to punish the three girls when the girl who had been planting water on the floor swung her school bag, at speed, directly into Meisa's head. The heavy, book-filled bag hit hard, driving her to the floor, dazed. The threads of the Shadow Game went skittering out of her grasp as she tried and failed to focus on the magic enough to finish her spell as the world spun around her.

"I'd say she wants to know how much worse it could be." The big girl snorted as she dragged her up by the collar. "What do you think?"

"I think you're right." The willowy girl smirked before turning to their accomplice. "What's the corridor like now?"

Yugi forced herself into control as the co-conspirator stated the halls were clear, and she managed to kick the bigger girl in the shin, causing her to let go. She stumbled out of the bathroom, instinctively trying to bolt for her friends despite the screaming protests of her ankle. Her body was lethargic and slow to respond through the ringing in her head and the pain spiking up her leg as she headed for the stairs, trying to get to where she would be safe.

She had just reached the top of the stairs when something shoved her from behind, hard enough to send her off balance and tumbling down the stairs, bashing head, back, and limbs repeatedly all the way down, the impact with the steps causing agony to spike through her left leg and arm as she tried to curl around the Puzzle, protecting it as best she could.

It was not enough. Once one piece jolted loose, excruciatingly tearing her soul and causing her to lose the bond with Meisa, the rest scattered, leaving a trail of golden pieces behind her as she finally came to a crashing halt against the ground floor's cold tiles, bloody, bruised, and broken.

The sounds of a familiar male voice shouting barely reached her through the constant buzzing in her head as she tried to push past the pain, past the feeling of a soul ripped into pieces, past the darkness trying to claim her, to see through the fog her vision had become and scoop up the scattered pieces of her most precious treasure despite the fact her left arm would not move.

She needed to put it back together. She needed to get her twin out of the Shadows. Nothing else mattered…

She could feel her entire body trembling as she tried to stand and her left leg objected viciously and shifted the wrong way at her ankle and just below her knee, causing her to swoon and nearly hit the floor again, only to find a trouser-clad leg interrupt her fall as she slumped into the side of a dark-haired male student.

"O…Otogi?" She barely made out, fading fast.

"I'm here." The concern in his voice was clear as he wrapped an arm around her, supporting her so she didn't fall further.

"P…Puzzle. Need… to complete… Puzzle…"

"I'll get the pieces. I promise." At his words she let herself slip into the painless black, trusting him to keep his word.

* * *

_'So Duel Monsters started as Diaha, back in Egypt, and Crawford tapped into the power of the old Ka beasts that were used for Diaha when he created Duel Monsters?'_ Amane asked as she checked her bank account on her phone, noting that the check from Crawford had cleared, securing her future financially for about a decade.

_'That's right. Ka beasts came from a part of people's souls. The stronger the soul, the more powerful the Ka beast. The Dark Magician was so powerful because he merged his full soul with his Ka beast so he could continue to serve his Pharaoh even after…'_ The Thief Queen stopped dead as she felt the world shatter around her.

She had only ever felt the world break into a million pieces once before, and she started swearing quietly to herself in Egyptian as she got to her feet quickly enough to send the chair clattering to the floor, then headed out the door, putting her hand over her chest as she entered the empty corridor. The Millennium Ring phased through the school uniform and into her hand and she grinned at the realization that her control of its powers had gotten so much finer since she had gotten into an alliance with her other self.

"Find Mutou Yugi," she ordered it as she held it out horizontally, wanting to know where the Pharaoh's Brat had disappeared to and what the hell had happened to cause the Puzzle to shatter. Thankfully the points on it all headed in the same direction, allowing her to hurry towards the brat without too much issue.

Noting the three girls that were heading away from the stairwell, she rushed over and glanced down to find gold pieces scattered everywhere and the Runt, bleeding, unconscious, and white as a sheet where she was not bruised, with her left leg bent at the wrong angle in two places and left arm hanging oddly, leant into one of the other students. Briefly ignoring the screaming of the demon to pick up the pieces, claim them for herself, and murder the brat, since a shattered Puzzle was completely worthless to her and she needed the girl to put it back together, she swept down the steps and knelt down by the boy.

"Who are you?" the teen demanded, watching her warily.

"I should be asking you that," she hissed back, not really caring but displeased with being questioned when it really did not matter who she was right now, "Go start gathering the Puzzle pieces, I'll sort her out."

There was a wariness in his expression, but once his eyes passed over her Ring, he nodded and shifted his grip, passing the injured girl to the spirit.

"Bloody hell, Runt. What did you do? Jump?" she grumbled as she laid the runt on the ground and straightened out the brat's limbs, many years of experience of having to heal her hosts pre-modern medicine allowing her to know when the joints were in alignment. Then she glanced at the boy. Since he still had his back turned and was not looking, she reached for her deck.

Under normal circumstances she would avoid being so blatant, but she needed to at least ensure the brat was going to be functional quickly if she wanted the Puzzle put back together any time soon. If she let the brat get rushed to hospital, there was a good chance she would not be coming out any time in the next couple of weeks. There was not much in her deck that could heal, but she knew her Landlord had put one card in. Pulling out five cards from her deck, she was pleased to see the card in question and confident that she could utilize the card she had pulled effectively. "I activate Emergency Provisions."

Tossing two magic cards away for the equivalent of 2000 life points, unwilling to let the Runt be taken down by anyone but her and to wait longer than necessary for the answers she had been promised, she felt the girl in her arms shudder and twitch as the magic started to heal her up.

"What the hell happened?" The Thief Queen's head snapped up at the sounds of the rest of the Pharaoh's Court arriving. Thankful she had not bothered to initiate her own illusion, allowing her to pretend to be Amane, she put on a worried expression as she answered.

"Someone pushed Yugi down the stairs. I don't know why." She put a waver in her voice and noted that her act had worked when Honda and Anzu started collecting Puzzle pieces without another word. She could not help but note the dirty look that Jou gave the boy who had been holding Yugi before he joined in.

As the brat settled down and the healing magic faded away, having fixed the broken limbs and stabilized the girl but left enough injuries to cover for the blood on the floor without taking Yugi completely out of action, she reached for one of the Puzzle pieces and closed her hand around it, focusing her own magic and soul to insert a piece of herself into it.

She knew the stubbornness of the Puzzle's Bearer. The girl would not rest until the item was whole once again, and now, once the Puzzle was whole, a piece of her own mind would be inside it and able to traverse the soul sanctuaries of the spirit and her host. She was of the opinion that somewhere in there was the Pharaoh's true name, and once she found it, she would no longer need to keep the brat alive and would be able to push her down the stairs herself.

Yugi's eyes half-opened, glittering with barely suppressed pain, and she tried to back away as her fight or flight instinct kicked in, only for Bakura to grip her arm tightly. "Describe your attackers."

The Pharaoh's Brat hesitated for a moment, then her hand went to the one piece of the Puzzle still attached to the rope around her neck and she glanced up at Ba-Khu-Ra, far too aware of which Bakura she was talking to. "I don't want you two to get in trouble."

"If I hadn't stepped in, you'd be looking at a prolonged hospital stay, runt," the Thief Queen hissed out. "If you even made it that far. And they've sent your precious 'Oneesan' back into the Shadows. Possibly for another eight years of suffering. Describe them."

That hit home, though the Thief Queen was pretty sure the Runt was only surrendering the information because she was still not entirely with it and was terrified for her older twin. When Yugi did give her description of the three girls who had jumped her, the same three girls she had seen heading away from the stairwell, Bakura pushed the Puzzle piece she had picked up into Yugi's hands and let go, allowing the child to back away as the Ring spirit got to her feet and stalked upstairs.

The only reason she gave a shit if the Pharaoh was imprisoned in the Shadows again was because she needed the bloody cow in order to break the goddamn seal. Otherwise 'Oneesan's' soul could rot in the Shadows for all she cared. However, she needed the brat alive, and anyone who was willing to push her down the stairs like that needed to be firmly dealt with.

Checking classroom 3-F rewarded her with the three girls in question, excitedly talking about their plans for after school, which, apparently, included harassing an 'Otogi' for his phone number. She was probably doing the boy a favor in getting rid of the girls, she decided as she stepped into the otherwise empty room, silently thanking the offers in the canteen for the lack of witnesses, and shut the door behind her.

The Shadows would feast well this lunch time.

* * *

Yugi hurt badly as she started collecting the Puzzle pieces nearest to her, the scraped skin and bruising from her fall nothing compared to the sharp edges of her soul where her sister had been ripped away when the item had broken. Her chest was tight and her heart pounded as the sight of the scattered gold reminded her that it had taken her eight years to complete the Puzzle before, and it could very well do so again.

She prayed that it would not. She would be absolutely heartbroken if it did. She swore to herself that once she had collected the scattered pieces, she would start right away and would not stop until she had managed to free her twin from the Shadows.

She just prayed that they could find every piece of it. If she was missing even one, then her sister would be trapped for good.

Panic startled rising within her as the other students started returning to the hallways, running the risk of the Puzzle pieces getting kicked everywhere as they headed back to class. Thankfully most of them seemed to be careful as they headed up the stairs, not wanting to slip on the scattered fragments of her pendant.

The sounds of someone upstairs yelling for someone to get the school nurse did not even sink in as her friends handed their pieces to her and she counted them, her face paling and her breath quickening as she looked around, frightened. "We're missing one."

"Shit." Katsuya swore as he scrambled to check the hallways and stairs over again.

Anzu and Honda joined him, but Otogi knelt down next to her and counted them through with her again, confirming that yes, she was, in fact, missing one. Specifically the second biggest piece, the one with the Eye of Anubis on it.

She could not help the tears that flowed and the sobs that escaped her as panic overwhelmed her. Fear for her twin and guilt that she had been unable to protect the Puzzle hit like a truck, causing her to tremble and struggle to catch her breath. She was about to surge to her feet to join the search when an arm wrapped around her shoulders and suddenly she was pulled into a male chest.

Not even bothering to check whose chest it was, she wept into them, releasing the emotions that had been choking her as she felt a hand on her back, rubbing it, trying to be supportive.

As her tears slowed down and she regained her focus on the world around her, she finally heard the voice of the teen holding her. "Easy, easy. It'll be okay."

Yugi just shook her head at Otogi and glanced around, hoping that her friends had found the missing piece. When she saw the dejected look on their faces, her heart fell further and she put the Puzzle pieces in her pocket before staggering to her feet, refusing to return to her classroom until she had found it.

Several students who were returning to class stopped to help her look, but as the bell went for the end of lunch, there was no luck. The last Puzzle piece seemed well and truly lost. Yugi tried to stay longer to keep searching, but after getting shut down by the teachers when she tried to explain what had happened and that she had lost something really important to her, she just went silent and went unwillingly.

They did not want to hear that she had been pushed, nor did they care about her broken Puzzle. Instead, they told her off for trying to blame someone else for her own misstep, reminded her that if she was going to wear gaudy necklaces, the school was not responsible if it got damaged, and forced her to return to class, pushed by the teacher's hand on her shoulder and the threats of detention if she was caught out of class. Her unhappy friends followed her, and Otogi headed for his own classroom.

Once he was safely ensconced in his seat, his hand slipped into his pocket and brushed over the icily burning golden piece that he had pocketed just after Yugi had slipped unconscious.

He had been furious that his plan to acquire the Puzzle had failed on Saturday, when he had pointed those students in Yugi's directions and offered them a large paycheck for the Millennium Puzzle, but now he was kind of pleased that it had. If the one piece of the golden treasure he had was reacting this poorly to him, the whole item would probably have reacted much worse to having been stolen from its true holder. Plus he had a feeling that those boys would have tried to scam him for further funds because the Puzzle was made of gold.

Not only that, but from the way Yugi had panicked when she had realized she was missing a piece, he knew that as long as he picked the right moment to return it to her, he would have her wrapped around his little finger.

That did not mean he was not going to try to win the item from her in the future. He was not daft enough to think that he would be able to get Yugi on his side when he went after her Ojiisan in order to make him pay for what had happened to his father. But he was certain he would be able to win it from her in the long run.

He did not understand exactly why the item was so important to the girl. He knew about its magic powers. He planned to eventually turn those powers against Mutou Sugoroku, but the way she had broken down suggested that the Puzzle was something more than an item of power to her.

Guilt trickled through him. He almost did not want to take it from her, or withhold the piece that he had in his pocket, but he had promised his own Otosan that he would take revenge on the man who had stolen so many years of his father's life away using a cursed game. He could not break that oath, not to his own kin. Not even for a girl who trusted him enough to break down in his arms.

Still, there was one very important thing he knew now that he had not known a few hours ago.

There was another Millennium Item within the school. One owned by an ally of Yugi's who was not afraid to guilt trip others into doing what she wanted and who had clearly healed the Puzzle Bearer, considering that there was no way Mutou would have been getting to her feet on her own otherwise.

The questions he now had were who was this girl, and was he going to have to worry about her interfering?


	8. Keeping Promises

Yugi could not focus on her classwork. The Puzzle pieces in her jacket pocket felt heavy as the thought that she had failed her sister swirled through her mind. Her twin sister was trapped again, lost within the Shadows until Yugi could find that missing piece and reassemble the item that held her soul.

If she had just managed to wrap tighter around it, or if she had fought from the start, rather than making the mistake of thinking that if she let the girls get their hits in they would leave her alone…

There was so much that she could have or should have done that it flooded her mind. It did not help her mental state that Honda had given her the chain that she had planned to switch her Puzzle onto after school, and now there was no Puzzle to put on it.

She could not even sit comfortably in her chair. She hurt all over, and there was nothing she could do about it. Without the Puzzle she had no magic and no way to heal or protect herself. Not that it mattered. She had been used to pain before she had completed the Puzzle, used to hurting day in and day out because she had been battered by bullies. She knew far too well after her duel with Crawford that what her twin was going through was a hundred, million times worse, and there was nothing she could do about it without that missing piece.

She needed to search the halls again and find the lost fragment. However, she had the first meeting of the dueling club to run, or she would be responsible for the closure of the club before it had begun, letting down the students that were relying on her, AND she had to get to the bank before they closed to get the transfer sorted for the operation money, or Shizuka's vital eye operation would get postponed.

She did not know what to do.

She missed the worried looks getting bounced between three of her friends. They knew how much her twin sister meant to Yugi and how terrified of returning to the darkness the Pharaoh had been. This was the worst possible thing that could have happened.

Well… no. It could have been worse. They had all seen how bad Yugi had looked when they had first arrived, and there was not a single one of them that did not think that they would not have been seeing Yugi off in an ambulance if Bakura had not assisted by healing the girl, even if she had not fixed her up all the way.

The very worst thing that could have happened is Yugi could have been taken to hospital and they would not know that there was a piece missing until she had woken up and, most likely, the cleaners had already swept the halls, causing the lost fragment to be gone forever.

Anzu had already decided that she was going to ask Amane for help after class so Yugi could fulfil her duties both to her club and to Jou. The Millennium Ring could track absolutely anything. With its help they would be certain to find the lost piece. She was pretty certain that if she told the half-English girl who held the item, the Spirit of the Ring would want to track the missing fragment, if only to ensure that she could continue to harass Meisa.

When the teacher was asked to step outside by another teacher, Anzu leaned across to Amane, trying not to wonder if it was about whatever Ba-Khu-Ra had stalked off to do after she had healed Yugi.

"Hey." When the white haired girl looked at her with a curious look, Anzu bit her lower lip for a moment before saying, "I need to speak to Ba-Khu-Ra."

Confusion flickered across Amane's face and then she nodded and switched out. The Thief Queen's eyes narrowed as she asked, "What?"

"One of the Puzzle pieces is missing." Anzu almost wished she had not told her when anger flared up in the spirit. "We looked as long as we could, but the teachers forced us upstairs. Can you help us find it?"

Under normal circumstances the Spirit of the Ring would have asked what was in it for her and charged through the nose for her services, but this time was different. Without that piece of the Puzzle, everything she had waited so long for would crumble away. What was worse was that she had been so close to getting more answers when the Pharaoh's Brat summoned her Dark Magician, and now the girl would not be able to do it. No Puzzle meant no focus for the Shadow magic and no summoning.

It was possible to summon one's personal Ka beast, the one that was linked to your soul, without an item if the Shadows had infected your soul, like it had the Runt's friends, but there was no way the Dark Magician was bound to the Puzzle Bearer, and she was completely untrained, meaning she probably would not be able to summon it yet, even if it was.

"Fine," Ba-Khu-Ra hissed back, kind of wishing she had been a little more careful about where she had left the soulless bodies of the girls who had assaulted the brat as the teacher stalked back in, looking worried, "but you're going to owe me."

"We'll work out price later. No open-ended deals, though," the dancer agreed, amusing the Thief Queen.

As the teacher stepped back up to his desk, looking troubled, Anzu leaned back in her chair, confident that once Bakura started looking it would not be long before the missing piece turned up and Yugi would be able to start working on the Puzzle and would hopefully look less like she had been stabbed in the heart.

"Three girls from class 3-F have been rushed to the hospital after collapsing and becoming unresponsive," Himuro-Sensei informed his class. "Anyone who had contact with them must report to the nurse's office."

Katsuya glanced at Yugi, but the girl did not move, fully aware why the girls were unresponsive and quietly hating herself for not realizing that was why Ba-Khu-Ra had wanted a description, even if she had been distracted by fear and pain. She knew that if her twin was able to be here, she would have Challenged the girls herself at the first available opportunity, but at least she would have only set a Penalty on them, rather than Bakura's less gentle methods.

The Puzzle Bearer barely made it through class, unable to focus properly on what was going on when her hand kept going to the Puzzle pieces in her pocket and her mind went back to the lost piece. The moment the bell went for the end of the day, she grabbed her bag, swept everything into it, and surged to her feet, flinching as the grazes and bruised muscles from her earlier tumble protested the movement. Before she could get too far, Anzu grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Anzu, I…"

"We'll look," the dancer interrupted and promised the duelist, "Jou, Honda and I. Plus Ba-Khu-Ra has promised to help. She can track anything."

The Queen of Games hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Amane. When the other Item Holder got to her feet and immediately switched with her darker self and nodded to the shaking owner of the Puzzle, Yugi's shoulders sank. "I should…"

"You need to go support the club, or they're not going to be able to run. You'll let down all the students that are relying on you." Anzu shook her head, her tone a low whisper that only Yugi could hear. "Trust us. We want Meisa safe as much as you do."

"I do trust you," Yugi responded just as quietly. Anzu could feel the girl trembling, and her voice echoed it.

"I know." And she did know. The weight of that trust was heavy as her friend took a deep breath and headed for the club rooms, ready to run her first session of the duel club. Once the classroom emptied of everyone except her and her friends, she turned to the others. "Okay, before we do anything, Ba-Khu-Ra, can you track the Puzzle piece? It'll save us time looking."

"We need to talk price first." The Thief Queen sat on her desk, watching the trio with a smirk. "What's in it for me?"

"You need Meisa, don't you?" Jou huffed. "Shouldn't you do it for free?"

"I don't do anything for free," Bakura snorted, "though I am willing to accept a lower fee for this because of that."

"I don't suppose a thank you would suffice?" Anzu tried and got a snort in reply.

"How about I don't punch you?" Honda tried to threaten.

"Touch me, and I'll find the piece and keep it for myself." The counter threat was more effective, and the broader teen huffed but backed up. The Spirit of the Ring turned to the dancer. "I'll hunt down that piece, but in exchange you're going to do something for me."

"What's that?" Anzu looked wary as she shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable.

"I need you to keep a better eye on the Brat." The Thief Queen slipped off of the desk, amused at the surprise on Anzu's face. "I don't particularly want to have to heal another broken limb."

Yugi's friends winced at that.

"I need her alive, so you're going to keep me informed of when there's someone messing with her so I can put a stop to it," Ba-Khu-Ra informed the other girl. "Deal?"

Anzu paused to consider for only a moment and then nodded. "Fine. I can get behind that. Just to make you aware, there's already someone messing around. That guy that was with Yugi after the fall? His name is Otogi Ryuji. He's the heir to the Black Clown Game Shop, and he's up to something. We know he has something against her Ojiisan, and we know he's going to try to use her to get to him, but we can't tell Yugi without him screwing her over."

Bakura paused to consider for a moment, pleased Anzu had accepted her terms so readily, then nodded as she called the Millennium Ring to her hand. "Good to know. Now… find the missing piece of the Millennium Puzzle."

The golden item glowed brightly, and the points on it hovered horizontally for a moment before they moved as one. She looked out the window in the direction they were pointing to find that they were pointing towards a car that was leaving the school gates.

"Someone's walked off with it," Bakura hissed, rather irritated. This meant that she was going to have to go and find out who that car belonged to and slam their head into the wall until they told her where they had put it, and that was far more work than she had wanted to do. "Not sure if it's a teacher or a student, but it just left school grounds."

"At least we know it's not gone down the vents or under a locker or something?" Anzu offered, trying to find something good in the situation.

Bakura did not justify it with a response, just stalked out of the room, heading out to find out who had dared to touch a piece of a treasure she had already claimed.

"I'll go tell Yugi," Jou sighed, running a hand through his hair. "She needs to know. It might reassure her a little bit to know we have an idea where it is at least."

"I'm gunna follow Bakura," Honda said with a nod, "in case she tries something once she's got her hands on it."

"And I'll go talk to Ojiisan," Anzu agreed, "so he knows something's up. Yugi's still hurt. She's going to need to rest when she gets home, and we all know she's not okay mentally."

"I mean, would you be?" Jou huffed as he headed for the door.

The other two did not reply as he slipped out of the room. The moment he was out of hearing range of the others, he kicked the nearest trash can, which went spinning across the hallways, dispensing rubbish all over the place.

Just last night they had decided that it was probably a bad idea to let Yugi wander around on her own for a while, and then they had done exactly that. They had let themselves get distracted by Otogi's threats and left their friend unattended, which had given those girls a chance to have a go at her.

They had a lot to thank Amane for. If the teachers had arrived on scene first, then they would have called an ambulance, and he suspected that the Ring Bearer would not have been able to help her friend once the medics had arrived on scene. After all, it would have been hard to explain the sudden disappearance of those injuries once they were on record.

He was not too happy that she had not healed Yugi all the way, but considering that there had been blood on the floor, he kind of understood it. They had to cover up for the magic that they were using. Not that the teachers had given a damn. He knew the staff here had a knack for being incompetent, but outright accusing Yugi of lying about being shoved down the stairs was a new low for them.

Despite all the anger bottled up inside, as he reached the club room and stepped inside, he could not help but smile. Yugi seemed brighter as she helped the others fill in the Duel League paperwork and checked in on the budget paperwork that Eiko was filling in. To someone who knew her well, though, there was still enough of a droop in her posture that he could easily tell she was still really upset about what happened. She sighted Jou entering and slipped around the room, hope slipping into her expression as she got close. "Any luck?"

"Not yet." Watching Yugi sink in on herself was horrible, and he tried to be reassuring as he offered, "But we have a lead. Someone's taken it; we don't know who."

"Okay… okay." Yugi's voice shook, her breath started coming faster, and she staggered back a step, bumping into the table as she did so.

"Breathe, Yuge." Katsuya grabbed her shoulders when she nearly bolted, shocked to recognize this reaction as an oncoming panic attack. Having seen his sister melt down before, he wanted to try and help her prevent it from becoming a full-blown incident and tried to reassure her. "Bakura's hunting it down now. We'll get it back. Meisa will be fine. You need to breathe. Focus on my voice. Slow, deep breaths."

The Queen of Games forced herself to breathe slowly, focusing on that fact in order to try and calm herself. It was difficult, and the nearest student vacated their seat to let her sit down.

"S…sorry," Yugi stammered, still shaking, as she realized her club members were staring at her. "I'm… I'm fine."

"If you need to go home, Mutou-san, we don't mind." Eiko looked worried.

"N…No. I'm fine." Yugi shook her head and put on a customer service smile, making Jou wonder how long his friend had been suffering from panic attacks and how often he had been oblivious and missed the signs, forcing her to hide her emotions away to prevent herself from seeming weak to others. "I just lost something really important to me."

Her hand went to where her Millennium Puzzle had hung for the majority of the last year on instinct, going to grab the rope that she often used as a way to ground herself when the anxiety had started to rise, only to suddenly remember that it was not there. It was in her bag with the rest of the pieces she currently held.

"Still, nothing can be done right now, so let's focus on getting ourselves set up properly." The Queen of Games got to her feet and gave everyone a bright, reassuring grin, forcing herself to hide how off balance she was. "After all, we need a team name for those forms."

That distracted the other club members, who immediately started coming up with ideas. Yugi managed to get their attention and started listing down what was shouted over to her, excluding any of the ones that were rude. Once everyone had run out of ideas, she cross referenced it against the list of duelling club names that were already in use and then turned to the group as a whole.

"Okay, as much as I appreciate the naming suggestions that revolve around my title, I might not always be Queen of Games, and I certainly don't plan on being in school forever," the club president reminded them. "The club name will be stuck with us once we're registered, so we need to make sure it's one we're all happy with."

That caused a soft murmuring amongst the other students.

"I've crossed through the names that are already in use, and I'm going to put the list of remaining names on the table. I want all of you to write down your favorite, fold it in half, and leave it next to the sheet. Then we'll discuss the names with the most suggestions.

As the club members lined up to do exactly that, Yugi sat on the windowsill and leaned into Katsuya. "Are you going to join?"

"Would you mind?" he asked quietly, happy that she was happier and relieved she did not seem to be in the middle of another panic attack.

"No. You might be stuck having to wait till Nationals to do any official duels like me though; I'd need to check," The Queen of Games warned him, sounding a little sad about that, making him look down to check she was okay.

"I don't mind." He felt her relax when he said that. "I'm more interested in getting experience and having a bit of fun with my second favorite girl."

"Second favorite?" She looked up at him with a joking pout.

"Sorry, Yuge, but you don't match up to Shizuka." His reply made his friend chuckle.

"Fair. Fair," Yugi allowed with an honest smile. "You should probably put your vote in for the club name if you're gunna join."

"True, but I'm kind of comfortable here." That earned him a contented sigh from his best friend, and she settled back into him, closing her eyes while she waited. Eiko grinned as she bounced around the room, having cast her vote, and handed Katsuya a form to fill in, resting on the back of a decent size text book to give him some support without having to move.

He smiled at the younger student, who just winked at him, having seen how comfortable Yugi was with him. Considering how wound up she had been minutes earlier and how sore she looked when she moved around the room, she was more than happy to help the Queen of Games relax for a few moments at least. That and the pair of Yugi and Jonouchi were kind of cute together, though she would not say that out loud.

Once the only vote left to cast with Jou's, Eiko coughed lightly, causing Yugi to open her eyes and slip off the windowsill. Jou followed, quickly casting his vote and finishing his sheet while his friend tallied the totals.

"Okay. There's a tie," she said finally after she had double checked the numbers, frowning slightly at the other eleven club members, "because someone wrote two names on their slip of paper."

Kobayashi Maru, the only girl of the Kobayashi triplets, who had slightly curly dark brown hair and wide brown eyes, blushed, embarrassed, having been unable to decide.

"So the choice is between 'Domino Knights', using the English word spelt K-N-I-G-H-T-S, or 'Domino Senshi'," the Queen of Games continued, noting that both Knights and Senshi were names for warriors, and pleased that 'Crown Duel Club' and 'Royal Court' had dropped off of the options list, "so I want a show of hands on which you prefer."

When 'Domino Senshi' got more votes, she looked around as she asked, "Is everyone alright with that?"

"I am not wearing a leotard." One of the guys, Kon Orochi, if Yugi was remembering correctly, one of the students in the year above her, who supposedly did not dye his hair blonde, despite the fact that Yugi was sure she could see black roots beginning to come through, and had piercing blue eyes, complained.

"Why would… oh." Yugi face palmed. He was thinking of the Sera Senshi or Sailor Guardians, from Sailor Moon. "No. No leotards. Possibly a club jacket when we have more funds, or at least a shirt we can wear to competitions, but certainly no leotards. I would look awful in a leotard, trust me."

That made the other students laugh.

"I withdraw my complaint." Kon put his hands up with a grin.

"Okay, so Domino Senshi?" Yugi double checked with the rest of the club. When there were no other complaints, she grinned. "Then it's settled; make sure you all write that down in the club name space on your forms. I'll make up a sign for the door."

"Is the Kame Game Shop going to sponsor the club?" One of the other guys, a final year student who Yugi remembered introducing herself as Watanabe Yori, whose hard green eyes and slicked back, short black hair reminded her of Takahara, asked.

"I don't know yet; I haven't asked Jii-san," the Club President responded, remembering the decision to ask this evening, which she had completely forgotten in the mess that lunchtime had been. "But I will hopefully have an answer by Thursday."

When that got a positive response from the other members of the club, Yugi relaxed a little bit. She was sure that her grandfather would want to put something towards the club, even if it was nothing more than a small discount. She really was not sure how much he would be willing to offer. It really did depend on how well the store was doing, and right now…

She shook herself slightly, reminding herself that they had survived rival stores opening before and would survive this too. After all, the Black Clown was a big store with lower prices, but it was a big box store with little personality. The Kame Game Shop was a little more expensive, but customers got a much more personalized experience, and Yugi had a knack for finding the right booster packs for people. More than eighty percent of the time, when someone opened a booster pack they had bought from her, there was something in there they could use in their decks. Not always the thing they were looking for, but always something useful.

The differences between the two stores and that luck level would keep the shop going, but she could see them having to tighten their belt a little until the worst of the initial hit had passed and they knew what they would probably be taking from now on.

Guilt rose again as part of her wondered how she could be thinking about money for the shop or the club right now, when the Puzzle was in pieces, and she had to pull her focus back in order to get the sign written. She wanted to help her twin, and the moment she got home, she was going to assemble what she had of the Puzzle.

While she had been on her way to the club, she had remembered what her Anesan had said to her while they had been sat on the battlements of Crawford's castle during Duelist Kingdom.

_'For three thousand years I was trapped in the Shadows. It was cold, it was dark, and it hurt. More than anything I've experienced since. I didn't think I would ever get out. Then I started to see glimpses of light. Light that started to appear more and more often. And each time the light appeared, the Shadows would back off and I would get a few moments free from pain and fear. Every time you tried to complete the Puzzle, I got to connect with the mind and soul of this bright sunspot who was my deliverance. I got to see you grow, and while there are a few of your childhood bullies I would like very much to set on fire, I started to look forward to the visits from the Light.'_

She hoped, more than anything, that if she could get enough of the Puzzle completed that she could protect her sister, at least for a while, and maybe, just maybe, she could connect to her twin's soul and talk with her, reassure her that Yugi was never, ever going to abandon her to the darkness.

She had been trying to assemble a little of it before all the club members had gotten here, but her shaking, unsteady hands had been unable to put more than a few pieces together. She hoped that once she got home, got to take some painkillers, and could focus properly, it would be easier to do.

At last the paper sign for the door was finished and put up and the budget application paperwork was completed, allowing the club the small stipend of a couple of thousand yen to get basic supplies. If they wanted anything more, they needed to get a sponsor and do fund raising.

Those were topics for Thursday's meeting, though. The bell went, informing them that it was an hour past the end of school, the building was shutting soon, and it was time to go home. The Domino Senshi gathered their things and headed out as Yugi gathered up the paperwork to hand in to Yamada-Sensei in the morning.

"You sure you're okay, Yugi?" Eiko asked once it was just her, Jou, and the girl in question, hovering around, worried for the older student.

"I'll be fine," the Queen of Games promised the younger student. "I've just had a bit of a rough day."

"Let me know if I can help?" the girl pleaded.

"I will, don't worry." Once Eiko had secured that promise, she bowed and headed out.

"Home now?" Jou asked as Yugi closed up the club room and locked the door.

"No. One stop to make first. I need to get to the bank." The smaller Duelist shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "So when Anesan gets back I can tell her I kept our promise."

Katsuya hugged her at that. He had honestly expected her to not want to make the extra stop with how shaky she was, and he had dreaded having to phone his mother to say that the money was going to be delayed.

She hugged him back. She had considered going straight home, but she had promised to get the transfer started today so it could be in Shizuka's hands before her next meeting with her specialist, and she knew how much that meant to both Katsuya and his Imoto.

As she pulled away from her friend, she could see that the decision to keep her word was the right one, even if it pulled at her heart.

Still, it was going to be a short stop, so it would not prevent her from working on the Puzzle for too long, and though she felt worthless after she had been unable to protect her twin, she had to believe that Akhenaden was wrong. Katsuya was a member of her household: he was not going to abandon her once the money was transferred and he no longer needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ I have built a tumblr for this series. There you can ask me questions and see the artwork of this series so far.](https://enneadau.tumblr.com/)


	9. Mistakes Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: mental and physical abuse, kidnap

Ba-Khu-Ra could not keep up with the car containing the stolen piece of the Millennium Puzzle, but she did not need to. Instead she headed up onto the roofs of the buildings around. The points on her magical item followed the vehicle through the streets and came to a stop pointing towards the newest game shop in Domino City.

She had expected it. Considering what Mazaki had told her, it was completely unsurprising that the git who was messing with the reincarnated Pharaoh was the one who had taken the piece after pretending to be so concerned about the girl. She would have appreciated the game he was playing if it had not interfered with her own plans. If he did not give her a good reason to leave that Puzzle piece in his care, she was going to kick his ass either mentally, physically, or magically, maybe even all three at once, and then go chuck the damnable thing at Yugi's face.

She glanced over her shoulder as she moved from roof to roof and noted that Honda was struggling to keep up, not that she cared. Either he would catch up or he would be out of her way. She had not asked him to come along, so he was nothing but an inconvenience.

The other teen was far behind her by the time Thief Queen slipped down onto the street and entered the Black Clown, whose sign had been fixed since the last time she had passed by here, and took a look around. It was much fancier than the Kame Game Shop was, with brand new shelves, smarter paintwork, and notably a more modern till system. She noted the pair of security guards on the doors as she sensed Amane watching though her own senses and smirked slightly, amused, when her twin felt curious.

 _'What's the matter? The Runt's shop not good enough for you?'_ Ba-Khu-Ra sent across their bond, teasing her light.

 _'I like the Kame,'_ Amane protested, embarrassed at getting caught ogling the Monster World supplies on the shelves, _'but the range is bigger here, and it's cheaper.'_

And that was going to be a massive problem for the smaller game shop. Not that she cared. By the time she was finished with Yugi, the shop was going to be the least of the girl's concerns. Still, it was kind of therapeutic to watch a bigger store come in to muscle the Pharaoh out of business, considering how her own village had degenerated over the years because of the royal family.

Kul Elna had not always been a city of thieves. They had started as royal tomb builders and guardians for the royal palace. When the Pharaoh they had worked for had been overthrown, however, the one who had taken over, the Runt's grandfather, had not kept them on, and the supplies from the palace that had kept the village going had dried up.

There had been citizens who had built crafts and traded for anything extra that was needed, but once the palace-given supplies were gone, the trading had not provided enough to feed everyone, and those who had once used their tools to build tombs had started using them to rob them. Once the products of theft had proved to supply the people better than trading, they had started organizing around the best thief, and that had been her grandfather.

He had been the one in charge of the first Thieves' Guild, and his followers had been so loyal that they had called him the 'King of Thieves'. That title had passed to her father, who had been King before her. Under his reign Kul Elna had been back in a position that meant the village was stable again, and the extras the craft works had been bringing in had been beginning to get them allies outside of Egypt.

She had swiftly been on her way to inheriting the title after him. The children of her generation had looked to her for leadership and had already completed more than one heist without a single loss. Older thieves had even started to listen to her after she had managed to prove herself by taking a small team and liberating an older, captured thief. Her father had been so proud…

Then the attack had happened, wrecking everything they had built up and stealing her future away. She had witnessed the massacre and destruction of everything she had loved and earned, witnessed the horrific actions of the royal guards under Akhenaden, and she had sworn there and then she was going to make the royal line suffer for everything they had put her people through.

Instead of inheriting her father's title and leading Kul Elna, she had been forced to start from scratch, with none of the tools her family had started with and worm her way into a position where she could whisper in the ear of the man who had **_DARED_** to claim her father's title, despite having absolutely no leadership abilities.

Getting to watch this bigger, more powerful business destroy everything the Pharaoh and her family had worked so hard to build up would entirely be satisfying.

 _'Easy, Ba-Khu-Ra,'_ Amane sighed, having felt the anger-laced thought process like it was her own. _'Remember Otogi? The guy who's going to inherit this place? He's messing with your plans. We don't want him around.'_

 _'You don't have to remind me,'_ The Thief Queen hissed back, kind of disappointed that she would have to put a stop to his plans if she wanted her own to work, as she looked around for the teen in question. When he was not on the shop floor, she grimaced slightly. Getting into the back offices of businesses was not as easy as it had once been.

Still, she had not spent thousands of years perfecting her skills to be baffled by security cameras. There was a reason she called herself the Thief Queen. She had rebuilt the guild from the ground up over thousands of years, had branches in multiple countries, and had a network of people she had trained personally in charge of those branches.

She headed for the staff-only doors at the back of the building. There she got lucky as one uniformed staff member exited, distracted by the mobile phone he was slipping back into his pocket, and she entered behind him before the door could lock again.

The corridors beyond were bland, a staff noticeboard here, a sign for the canteen there. Other than that, the plain white walls gave her little indication of this being a business run by people who actually cared about anything except outside appearances. The surprising lack of security cameras, except for those pointed at the double doors labelled 'warehouse', made her wonder what they did not want on record.

Still, it made her life easier, and she slipped along the hallway, looking for where the teen she was hunting had gone. It would have been easier if she had just used the Millennium Ring, but part of the fun of hunting a target was seeing how far she could get alone, without her magic. After all, her grandfather and her father had not had magic to assist them, and they had gotten along fine.

She peeked into the staff canteen to find a couple of tables, a microwave, a pair of vending machines, and three staff members who were engrossed in their mobile phones, but no Otogi, telling her that either he had probably headed for the main office or there was an apartment somewhere in this building that he had retreated to.

Stairs upwards lead her to an office and a bunch of side rooms where it looked like gaming tables were set up. One of them contained a game she had not ever seen before that involved dice of some kind. Curious about what it was, she slipped inside, noting that the art supplies on the side table looked like someone was in the process of designing pieces for it.

She picked up a black die and examined it, becoming curious about the symbols on the side and impressed by the quality of the artwork. When the door clicked, she turned around, looking for somewhere to hide, only to roll her eyes when she realized she had cornered herself. To avoid being caught, she tapped into the Ring's power to utilize her Ka beast's powers, allowing herself to merge into the shadows around the room.

The boy from earlier, the one Anzu had named as Otogi Ryuji, stepped into the room with a steaming cup of what smelled like stupidly strong coffee, turned on the lights closest to the art table and slumped down at it to work, leaving the door ajar behind him. Bakura considered her next move as she watched him take a sip and then start painting one of the miniatures, which kind of looked like one of the more draconic creatures from Duel Monsters.

On the one hand she had him right where she wanted him. On the other she had to remember that she had to get back out again after harassing him. She had been far too careless with those girls earlier, and if she was so reckless again, she ran the risk of getting her Landlord in trouble.

She frowned as he paused, checking the table over like he had realized something was missing, then she mentally cursed herself as she realized he was looking for the die that was currently in her hand.

As he checked under the desk, she slipped around the room, keeping to the darker parts of the room so her invisibility kept helping, planning to shut the door and give them some privacy when she harassed the boy into giving back the Puzzle piece.

She was nearly there when Otogi slammed a hand onto the table and got to his feet, storming over to the door, and snappishly calling, "Otosan!"

The man that responded sounded old, far too old to be Otogi's father, and Bakura took a few steps back as the younger man moved further into the room. She could sense a ball of writhing Shadows approaching, which made her narrow her eyes and find a better vantage point, but who it was attached to surprised her.

A twisted, hunchbacked man entered the room, assisted by a cane. White hair exploded out of the sides of the dark purple clown mask that was strapped to his face, revealing only narrowed eyes and a mouth with a cruel sneer. The ball of Shadows was attached to him, suggesting that he had been tainted by the Shadows at some point. From the sheer volume of them, he had probably been in a Shadow Game, allowing them to latch on to his soul, but she knew far too well that she had never challenged the man.

"What, Ryuji?" the cold, crackling tone that emanated from the creature demanded.

"Have you been moving my…" Bakura winced as Ryuji was suddenly smacked with the cane at a speed that she had not anticipated from the elderly creature.

"Why are you focusing on your game when you should be focusing on our revenge?" The clown struck again, making the Thief Queen wonder why Ryuji was putting up with it without a word. "Your game is worthless to me unless you're using it to destroy our enemies! I wouldn't move a single piece of it except to throw it all away."

Ryuji's hands balled into fists for a moment, and Bakura sensed the Shadows rolling like flames around the boy, ready to strike, but somehow, they were kept restrained as the teen hissed out. "I've made massive progress today. Yugi…"

"Isn't here," the old man bit back, "so you haven't made that much progress. You know what Sugoroku did to me, know what he stole from me. You're supposed to be helping me steal everything important to him, and that includes her."

The young games designer forced himself to take a deep breath and put his hand in his pocket, taking another deep breath before he shakily revealed the item she had come to collect to his father. "I managed to get a hold of a piece of her Puzzle."

The clown picked it up and examined it in the light. Bakura could feel the darkness being given off by the piece as someone who was not its owner and certainly not worthy of holding it watched it shine, somehow ignoring the pain he should have been feeling. Then the piece went bouncing away as the clown threw it toward the art table.

"One piece?! How is one piece any use to us?!" the elderly figure demanded, slamming his cane into Ryuji's side again, causing the boy to flinch. "We need the whole thing!"

"Yugi's a mess right now," the teen tried to explain. "You want to hurt Sugoroku? How better than by letting Yugi break down for a few days? Then I can draw her to us by giving it back after a couple of days. She'll be so relieved she'll come willingly, and then you can explain what her Ojiisan…"

"You honestly think she'll care?" A fourth smack drew a pained noise from the young man. "That she would ever side with us against her own flesh and blood?"

"Yugi's not unreasonable. She'll…"

"You stupid boy." The elderly man pushed Ryuji back with surprising strength, causing the boy to tumble to the floor. "You've fallen for her, haven't you?"

"What? No!" Ryuji protested, being honest. "She…"

"You're forgetting what's important," the elderly man snapped, cutting his son off as he unclipped the mask. When he lifted it, it revealed a face that was old, scarred, and twisted. Ryuji flinched back, angering the older man further. "Mutou Sugoroku did this to me. He stole years of my life with that cursed game. Mutou Yugi will be no better. Don't you dare side with them over me!"

"I'm not!" Ryuji yelped, putting his hands up to protect his head as his father raised the cane above him. "I promise I'm not! I'd never betray you!"

Ba-Khu-Ra, who had been edging her way around the room to try and grab the Puzzle piece, paused at that, and turned back towards the pair, intrigued. It sounded like the Pharaoh's family was still stealing things that could not be replaced from others to make themselves stronger.

"Good." The cane got lowered. "Because until I have my revenge, nothing you want matters: you're worthless to me. Understand? Until you prove yourself by getting revenge on Sugoroku for me, you're nothing but a burden."

Guilt sank into the Thief Queen as a question flashed though her mind. _'Is that what I sound like to Amane?'_

 _'You might be as bloody-minded as him about your revenge, but you care about me,'_ the lighter soul reassured her; care, concern, and anger on Ryuji's behalf pulsed across the bond from her lighter self. _'There's a huge difference. We should help Otogi.'_

Bakura nearly asked why. He was not valuable to them. He was a thorn in their side.

Then she felt the sympathy her light had for the abused boy and realized that if they did not assist him, it would both make her host sad and prevent them from finding out exactly what had happened. Plus, they could keep an eye on the situation and ensure it did not screw over her own long-term plan.

 _'Fine, but you owe me,'_ the Thief Queen huffed quietly as she continued her route around the room, planning to reveal herself from a position of strength by having her hands on that Puzzle piece.

"Make sure you have actual progress tomorrow, or I'll chuck all your little toys away," Otogi's father warned, his tone cold as he slipped the mask back on. "Now don't waste my time again."

With that he wheeled around, turned off the lights and slammed the door shut on his way out, dropping the room into pitch-black darkness.

Ba-Khu-Ra had just reached the art desk and gotten her hands on the Puzzle piece when she heard an angry, frustrated noise and the sounds of a chair going flying and crashing into the opposite wall.

She coughed quietly and deactivated the invisibility spell. Then she allowed the Ring to glow, revealing her position. By its light she could see the shock and shame on the other teen's face as he realized that she had been in the room for all of what had happened. He started for the door, and Bakura flicked her fingers towards him. The darkness around him solidified, holding him in place.

"Let me go," Otogi hissed out, anger masking fear as he realized he could not move his legs.

"Agree not to alert security, and I will," Bakura snorted.

"Why wouldn't I?" he demanded, his tone surprisingly even for the shaking that she could see.

"One, because if I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it already," the Thief Queen snorted, "and two, because we have a common enemy."

"I thought you were Yugi's ally?" Confusion slipped into the boy's voice.

"No. I just need something from her. Something you're interfering with," Ba-Khu-Ra huffed, almost insulted at being considered the Pharaoh's ally. "I don't care what happens to her as long as she survives long enough for me to get it."

The game designer paused to consider that. During the silence that fell, the Thief Queen wondered if she had overplayed her hand. Then Otogi nodded. "I'm willing to discuss an alliance."

She released him. He turned most of the lights on and righted the chair he had tossed before turning to her.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded, gesturing to a chair opposite him as he sat down.

"It's what you want from me." She held up the Puzzle piece and watched him tense up.

"Give that back." He started to get to his feet but stopped at a raised hand, wary of her magic.

"Don't demand anything of me. You won't always like the price it comes with," she warned him. "You realize I should be ripping your soul out for stealing a piece of something I need?"

"You can't…" He did not sound certain though.

"Oh, I can, and I have to others." She snorted, amused by his fear. "I'm surprised you disbelieve me, considering what happened to your father."

Otogi grimaced at that and sat back down. She sat daintily in the chair opposite. "I suppose you want to know the story?"

"That would help, yes." The Thief Queen nodded, sitting back as if she was relaxing. "I can't decide if you're worth my time if I don't know why you're getting in my way."

"Mutou Sugoroku used to be a legendary gamer. Undefeatable by anyone. My father wanted to be his apprentice. Not long after I was born, Father went on an archaeological dig and got his chance to appeal to him." Otogi sighed, fiddling with his dice earring as he spoke, nervousness etched in every millimeter of his frame. "Mutou challenged my father to prove his worth through a game that they had found in the tomb they were digging out. It was called the Game of Life, and it was cursed. You bet a number of years every time you moved, and if you lost, you lost those years. Mutou cheated and won, stealing away fifty years of my father's life. He aged that much in a single afternoon."

Bakura frowned slightly, wondering how the old gamer had cheated and why someone with a half a brain would play a game like that. Unless it had been for the thrills, in which case the men had gotten what they deserved. "Do you still have the game? Or did Mutou keep it?"

"My father has it. He's been trying to work out how to reverse the effects," Otogi admitted. "I could probably get him to let you take a look if I tell him you're on our side."

She nodded, not telling him that she was only on his side as long as it suited her purposes and if he got too far in her way, she would remove him viciously.

"The Puzzle piece, may I have it?" Otogi asked, surprisingly polite.

"Why? What are you planning to do with it?" The answer was going to be important as to whether she allowed him to hold it or not.

"I just plan on holding it for a couple of days," he admitted, "until Yugi's worked up enough to be grateful to me for its return. She'll be more willing to listen to me if she feels she owes me for saving her most important treasure."

"Emotional manipulation." The Thief Queen nodded thoughtfully. "Rather powerful emotional manipulation, considering how much she values her Puzzle. And afterwards? Once you've returned it? What's your plan then?"

"I'm going to explain the situation, and if Yugi won't help me," Otogi shrugged, "I'm going to take her Puzzle."

"I can't let you do that." Ba-Khu-Ra frowned and shook her head. "I need her to hold it."

"Why do you need her to have it?" the game designer pushed, curious and wanting information on her plans in exchange for news on his.

"The Puzzle is linked to something incredibly powerful, but Yugi is the only one who can access it because her soul is bound to that item." Bakura gave him the cliff notes. "Anyone else who takes it is taking a piece of her soul and won't be able to unlock its full potential."

Otogi sat back at that. "So even if I win it from her, I won't be able to use its powers properly?"

"You'll have access to its base magics, but its full potential will be unavailable," the Thief Queen snorted. "I take it you're planning on turning it on Mutou Sugoroku?"

The other teen nodded. "That was the idea, yes."

"Mutou-Sensei might have retired from gaming, but his mind is still sharp; going after him with the Puzzle will give him a chance to turn the magic back on you. You might want to reconsider your tactics." Bakura shook her head. "Shadow magic nowadays mostly works through games. Games that must be fair. If you cheat, you're done; the Shadows will rip you apart, and the most confident person almost always wins."

"So, I won't chea… what?" he demanded when the Spirit of the Ring let out an amused snort.

"The Shadows let out a person's true nature: if it's part of your nature, you WILL cheat," she explained. "By going after him using Shadow magic, you're testing your own soul as much as you're testing his. So how confident are you that you're as good a person as you think you are?"

Otogi hesitated, years of being told he was worthless by his father cutting into his confidence. "So, what do you suggest?"

"The most important thing in Mutou-Sensei's life is his magomasume. He would give up everything he owned to protect her. Watching Yugi crumble because she's broken the Puzzle and lost a piece of her soul will hurt him more than you can imagine," the Thief Queen huffed. "My suggestion is that you keep a hold of it for a couple of days, then you let Mutou-Sensei know you have it. He'll come to you for whatever Penalty you have planned for him in exchange for that Puzzle piece. Once you have had your revenge, I'll return the piece to Yugi and I can continue my plan."

"Sounds… surprisingly reasonable." The game designer looked confused as she tossed him the Puzzle piece, much to the frustration of her lighter self. "What do you want from her? And why would you help me like this?"

"I already told you what I want. I want the key for the thing the Puzzle's linked to, and the only way to get it is to get Yugi to unlock the access, something she can't do while the Puzzle is in pieces." The ill-amused huff she let out made Otogi snort. "As for why I would help you? Our goals aren't that dissimilar. You want to get revenge for your family, and so do I."

He nodded, thinking he understood.

"Now, can I see that game of your father's?" Ba-Khu-Ra asked, wanting to see exactly what the Pharaoh's Ojiisan had used against Otogi's father and if she might utilize it for herself against Yugi. "I might be able to make some suggestions."

Otogi stood and offered her a hand to her feet. She took it and followed him, making notes of the layout of the floor as they went.

 _'Voice. We shouldn't have given that back to Otogi,'_ Amane scolded, irritated at her. _'We promised…'_

 _'I promised I would hunt it down. I didn't say I would return it,'_ the Thief Queen mentally huffed, _'and I did. We know where it is, so I've kept my word. Besides, you're the one who said we should help Otogi.'_

 _'I meant with his father, not with harassing Yugi!'_ the Ring Bearer protested.

 _'You didn't state that.'_ The ill-amused sigh that earned her over the bond from her lighter half made her roll her eyes. _'I've just done her a favor, anyway. He's not going to be trying to steal her Puzzle anymore.'_

 _'No, he's not,'_ Amane admitted slowly. _'He's just going to torment her. And Oneesan is going to be trapped in the Shadows longer.'_

 _'Oh, she deserves it,'_ the spirit snorted. Amane did not bother to argue with her as Otogi showed her to his father's study and the brightly lit, hidden room beyond.

She could sense the magic rolling off of the game he had mentioned before she had even entered the room. The moment she stepped inside, she let out a sharp breath. The 'Game of Life' was a Shadow-infused board game, one that was so potent that even she was not certain she would like to mess around with its rules and regulations.

That did tell her something particularly important, though. If Mutou Sugoroku had cheated during this game, the Shadows would have punished him immediately. The fact that it had been Otogi's father who had lost and been punished with years of his life being stripped away suggested that it was, in fact, him who had cheated.

Not that she was going to tell Otogi that right now.

"Interesting." She ran a hand over the board, letting her magical senses tell her everything that she needed to know. "This is incredibly powerful. I might be able to work out how it works, but it's going to take me some time."

"And who are you?" Bakura turned around, showing none of the surprise at being caught in the private room with Otogi, at the sound of Otogi senior's voice.

"Someone with a better grip on magic than you'll have in a lifetime," the Thief Queen warned, watching the creepy clown carefully as he stepped inside and shut the door, which let out a quiet beep, suggesting that the door had locked behind him. "Who are you?"

The clown's eyes focused on the item strung around her neck. "Otogi Kintaro; I own this building, so you'll either tell me who you are and what you're doing sneaking around my office, or I'll have you arrested."

"My name is Bakura," she informed him, not giving her host's given name as she realized that the positioning of the lights meant there were no Shadows for her to retreat to and walk through to get out that way, "and I'm sneaking around your office because I wanted to see if I could undo what this did to you."

It was a lie. She had only wanted to see it for her own curiosity's sake, but it make the elder Otogi pause.

"Why?"

"Because I hate Mutou Yugi as much as you hate Mutou Sugoroku." She snorted, furious with herself for letting her guard down to examine the game as she half-turned away, trying to keep an eye on both Otogis. She slipped the hand that was hidden from the twisted man's sight into her jacket pocket where her cards, the modern form of the summoning tablets from the ancient Diaha, rested, and thumbed through until she sensed she had her fingers on the card she wanted, in case he tried to pull something.

"Why should we trust you?" the elder Otogi huffed out, his voice crackling.

"Because you don't really know what you're playing with," the Thief Queen bit out. "You are trying to seize power when it can only be won. Even then it will overwhelm you if you don't understand it properly and you try to cheat your way around the rules, but you already know that, don't you?"

The way the man's eyes narrowed told her that she was correct in her assumptions.

"I mean if you don't want to get your lost years back, then I'll leave now, and you can suffer forever." Ba-Khu-Ra shrugged, turning for the door and acting more nonchalant than she felt, considering she was not sure how the door opened. There was no obvious electronic lock and no keyhole, so most of her plan right now involved getting that door open and then Challenging the older Otogi for shutting it in the first place.

"Stop." Though she hated that he dared to order her around, she did, in fact, stop.

"Yes?" She allowed her distaste to seep through in her voice.

"You can undo this?" he demanded.

"I can try. The magic in it is old and powerful; it might even be older than my Ring, so it's going to take some time to work out exactly how it works. I'll need to visit a few times," she explained as she turned to face him, lying out of her rear end since the years lost were part of a Penalty, and even she could not undo one of those safely without it turning her own magic against her. "I'll warn you now, though, if you raise a hand against me, I'll make you suffer."

There was a moment where she saw his knuckles turn white as his grip on his cane tightened, then the old man nodded sharply. "You're not leaving until you've worked it out."

"Excuse you?" Bakura allowed the shadows to flow out from her Ring, turning the air around them cold and sharp. "What makes you think I'll let you hold me here?"

Ryuji shivered, but his father stood firm. "Only I know how the lock works."

"True," Bakura allowed, able to sense her twin's nervousness at the degenerating situation, "but you're forgetting something really important. You have to open the door at some point to leave yourself. Unless you plan on staying here the whole time?"

She was not stupid, she saw the gesture Kintaro made to Ryuji, who shifted around the room, moving into a position behind her.

"I would think about what you're doing," the Thief Queen warned, almost disappointed that they thought they could control her. "Make an enemy of me, and you won't survive to harass Yugi any further."

When Kintaro nodded to his son, Bakura called up the beast from the card, Diabound. The great stone-skinned naga-like creature grabbed the boy, who had been about to grab her from behind, and slammed him against the wall, pinning him there by his throat.

The father launched himself towards her, but Bakura practically danced out of the way, a smirk gracing her features. Even two against one, it was far too easy.

 _'You're a thousand years too young to get me with something like that,'_ she internally crowed as Kintaro's desperate lunge ended with a stumble as he tripped over his own feet. Suddenly he turned, forcing her to leap back, once, and then twice, quickly putting herself out of his reach.

Or so she thought: a fourth lunge made her twist, and suddenly she felt a yank, and something snapped. The older man panted and trembled with exertion as Diabound faded away, checking that he really did have what he thought he had in his hand.

Amane gaped, her heart stopping for a moment as she beheld the Millennium Ring in the hands of the older Otogi.

"I have it." The man panted heavily as his eyes, the only part of him that could be seen under his mask, glittered with tears. "My life, I finally got it back."

The Ring's true Bearer darted forwards, grabbing at her item, trying to snatch it back before it could hurt the man. She managed to get her hands on it, but the younger Otogi grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. He pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket before he shoved her back into the room, away from both his father and the Ring. She collided with the heavy table painfully and bounced off, hitting the floor.

"Give that back," Amane demanded, glaring up at them and trying not to shake as the realization that she was in serious trouble hit her. She was not a fighter, she never had been, and without her Millennium Item, she had no access to her magic. If Voice had not been quick enough to dodge them, she certainly could not take them both at once AND get her Item back.

"Work out how to fix me, and you'll get it back." The father shook his head, smart enough to hold the golden trinket by the rope rather than directly. "Until then you're staying here."

He was not bluffing either. He had no intentions of letting her go, though Amane did notice Ryuji looked like he felt guilty as he pocketed the phone.

"I need the Ring to manipulate the magic." She tried the truth.

"Once you know what you need to do with it, you can have it back," Otogi senior snorted, tightening his grip on the rope attached to the item holding half of her soul. "Work fast, and you'll get it back and go free."

"People will look for me." Amane faked tears, allowing them to run down her cheeks, trying to look pathetic, hoping to appeal to the man's sympathy. "My parents will notice if I don't come home tonight."

If the truth would not work, it was time to lie. No one lived with her. No one would notice if she did not show up. She had no family to care about her. The only people who gave a damn about her other than Voice, who was currently as trapped in the Ring as Oneesan was in the Shadows, were Yugi and her friends, and even then they would not know she was missing until tomorrow at school because they thought her darker half was hunting the missing Puzzle piece.

"She has a point, Father," Ryuji tried on her behalf, having been impacted by her subterfuge. "Maybe we should…"

"Don't be weak, boy. No one will think to look here. They'll suspect she's with her friends and not taking calls," his father snapped, hitting the teen on the shin with the cane, making the boy wince and making Amane both wish that she had let the Thief Queen just walk out of here with the Puzzle piece and that she had the Ring so she could set her other self on the prick who thought it was okay to abuse his son and kidnap someone. "Now keep her away from the door."

With that he turned around to unlock the door.

"Otogi…" Amane took a step forward, trying to see how the locked worked so she could undo it herself, only for the tall teen to block her way. "You don't have to do this."

He grimaced and glanced towards his father, bringing the realization that he feared his father's reaction too much too help her, at least right now. "Yes, I do."

She tried to bolt past him once the door slid open, but he caught her by the back of her jacket and dragged her back, pinning her, face first, against the wall, one hand caught up in her hair, the other latched around her wrist as he twisted her arm up behind her back. The pained cry she let out made him loosen his grip a little, but not enough to allow her to slip free.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper before suddenly he had released her and bolted out of the door behind his father. Amane pushed around and rushed for the door, but before she could reach it, it slammed shut on her and she heard the lock beep.

She slammed her body against it, testing the strength of the door, and heard a metallic ring rather than the dull thud of wood as she bounced off of it, telling her there was no way she was breaking out through brute strength alone.

She silently cursed herself. If she had not convinced her darker half to talk to Otogi, she would not have gotten curious and they could have gotten the Puzzle piece and gotten out of here. Now she was trapped. Trapped without her Millennium Ring or any way of communicating with the outside world. There was a chance, a slim chance that if they left the Ring unattended and not trapped in anything, it would return to her of its own accord. It had before when she had been trying to get rid of the damnable thing. However, she did not know if they would be that stupid.

She just had to pray.

* * *

"Father, may I…" Ryuji held his hand out, hoping to be allowed to at least look at the Millennium Ring.

"No. You may not," his Otosan snapped, recoiling, and heading towards the door out into the corridor, examining the item whose rope he held, spinning the golden trinket so he could see it from all angles. The golden points attached to the ring glinted in the light given off by the office lightbulb. The light reflecting off them landed on his father's face, illuminating the greedy, slightly insane desire on it. "This one is mine."

For a moment, the younger Otogi held his breath as the older man's hand hovered over the golden trinket, as if he was going to touch the artifact itself. Considering how much the Puzzle piece had objected to being stolen, Ryuji did not think that was a good idea. The Millennium Ring would probably react a lot more strongly. He knew his father would not listen to him if he warned him, though.

"This item is no use to me until I decide to claim it properly and make her give it up, defeat her, or…" His father's hand lowered as he trailed off and tied the broken rope pieces together before wrapping it around his right wrist, "I would just play her for it now, but she needs it to fix me. To return me to the man I once was, so I'll wait. Once she's done, I'll take it for myself. If you want an item of your own, you'll take the Puzzle from Yugi."

Ryuji grimaced, his hand going into his pocket where the golden piece he had stolen rested and wrapping around it. He wanted to defeat Yugi. He wanted to prove himself better than her. However, guilt was still hitting hard from watching the girl's meltdown earlier, and it had been made worse by what he had just helped his father do.

"Don't look like that, Ryuji," his Otosan huffed as he headed for the door, not planning on leaving the item unattended any time soon if he had his way. "I might be harsh on you, but that's because I know you're better than the Mutou bitch. Your upbringing has hardened you and made you a better gamer and a better fighter. She cannot beat you as long as you remember what's at stake."

"Yes, Otosan." Ryuji looked at the floor, far too aware that his whole future depended on getting revenge on Mutou Sugoroku because his father would not allow him to release Dungeon Dice Monsters next week if there had not been substantial progress in their plans. "May I go out?"

"Where to?" His father's head snapped towards him, his expression distrustful.

"I just need to take a walk, that's all," he promised, putting his hands up, needing to get away and clear his head. "Just around the block."

His father considered him closely, eyes narrowed, then he nodded. "Fine, but just remember Ryuji. If you betray me, you'll lose everything."

"I understand, Otosan." And he did. Far too well. Not that he would ever betray his father willingly.

"Get out, then."

Ryuji left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: I have recently received a review on a different website asking why I only update once a month and demanding I update more often. I'm afraid this won't happen. I need the time to write, edit and review my chapters before I send them to my beta reader, who picks up on things I miss because of my dyslexia. I'm sorry if that means you guys have to wait for more story, but I refuse to throw bad chapters out there for you to read.
> 
> I hope this doesn't detract from the story and you're willing to wait for future updates, believe me I have plans written right through to the end so I will never be giving up on this series. It's just going to take me some time to get to the end because of the update schedule that allows me to update regularly.


	10. Searchlight

Katsuya hesitated for a moment as he stood outside of Yugi's shut bedroom door, holding a tray with a plate of food and a drink.

He knew his friend was engrossed in something important and did not want to disturb her, but at the same time she had not emerged from her bedroom since she had gotten home, and if she did not eat, she would make herself ill.

He risked knocking on the door.

The surprised noise that came from inside was followed by the sounds of multiple items clinking off a surface and a frustrated groan. "C…come in."

"Sorry, Yuge," he apologized as he pushed the door open, noting that she was putting on a horrendously fake smile as she turned to him.

"It's… It's okay," she lied, turning back to her desk, where the Puzzle pieces she did have were scattered, having just fallen out of position and onto pages and pages of notes that were clearly on the assembly of the Puzzle. The handwriting on them was plainly Yugi's, but from what he could see, there were differences in the way things were written that suggested some of these sheets of paper had been written when his friend had been much younger.

"I got you a couple of burgers," he offered as he slid the tray onto the only clear piece of her desk, "and a soda."

"Thanks." The girl did pause to eye up the food, then turned back to the pieces on the desk. "I'm not hungry right now, but I'll eat it later."

Katsuya grimaced, having seen this from his friend before. When she was seriously down, she tended to neglect her own health. It had happened after Death-T and again for the first week after Jii-san's soul had been stolen. Last time he had gotten her eating again by reminding her that if she did not look after herself, she would not be in any fit state for Duelist Kingdom. The first time, however, she had not started eating properly again until something, or rather someone, had pulled her out of her own head.

That someone was currently trapped in the Shadows, and he did not think that Yugi was going to be okay again until she had the whole Puzzle in her hands. Unless…

"Yuge?" he asked quietly, causing her to look at him. "I know you're not hungry, but you haven't eaten at all since breakfast. You need to eat or you're going to pass out midway through working on the Puzzle. That won't help Meisa."

The Queen of Games considered his words for a moment, then nodded and picked up a burger. The first bite she took of it set off her hunger, and he was pleased to see both burgers, which he had gotten from her favorite burger place, disappear in short measure. Swift enough, in fact, to give her the hiccups.

He could not help but chuckle at the high-pitched squeaks that came from his friend. It earned him a disappointed look, but he continued to laugh as she held her breath until the squeaks had stopped.

"Thanks, Jou. Seriously." Yugi gave him a small smile. "Those were good."

"If you want anything else, give me a call, okay? I'll bring it up," he promised, hand over his heart.

"Can…" Yugi started, then hesitated and shook her head. "No, never mind."

"What's up?" the other duelist asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. He felt her lean into them and realized that she did not want to be alone right now.

"Are… are you busy?" she asked softly, picking up a couple of the pieces and fitting them together carefully.

"Not really." He really was not. He had tried to distract himself by picking up his Zelda save file, but he had not been able to focus and had gotten himself murdered horribly three times while trying to traverse 'Dodongo's Cavern' before he had given up and popped out for the food.

"Can you sit with me?" she asked hopefully, looking up at him. "I know it's an inconvenience, but…"

"Sure. Do you want me sat next to you, or…?" He paused, not sure where he would be sat if she said yes.

"You can sprawl on the bed if you like." Yugi looked sheepish. "I just… I keep trying to talk to Anesan, and I don't…"

"You want someone to talk to, or at least someone hanging around, so you feel less alone." He understood. It had been months since Yugi had been alone in her own head after all; she probably felt horrifically uncomfortable right now.

When she nodded, he grinned at her. "Hey, no problem. I'll grab a tray and work on my homework while you're fixing up the Puzzle, okay?"

She nodded again, and he headed downstairs and grabbed his backpack.

"Katsuya?" Jii-san asked, having just finished shutting down the shop. He was worried for his granddaughter, and having Jou's help in keeping an eye on her was a relief.

"I got her to eat," he reassured the elderly man and saw him relax a little.

"Is it as bad as I fear it is?" Sugoroku asked the teen he had taken in.

"Yes and no." Katsuya sighed, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. "She's not okay, she's definitely on a bad downswing, but just the fact I got her to eat means she's still able to listen. Unlike after Death-T."

The older Mutou sighed, looking down. "That's good. I'm sorry to put you in this situation."

"It's fine." The blonde shook his head. "She's allowed to have a bad time. She's normally so busy supporting everyone else and keeping our moods up that we don't mind supporting her when she crashes."

"I just wish…" the retired archeologist trailed off, relieved that Yugi's friends understood. Before the Puzzle, before the other teens that now made up a large portion of his granddaughter's life, Yugi had been a quiet, miserable mouse who had barely talked and frequently had panic attacks about going to school, mostly because she was constantly bullied when she was there and was blamed by the teachers for the consequences caused by her bullies.

Once she had friends who could support her, however, she had fared much better, and her anxiety and depression had faded into the background. She had emerged from her shell to become the happy, bright girl she was now because she knew that no matter what happened, she had people she could rely on. People who would back her up in any situation and who trusted her to have their backs.

In times of stress, like now, however, or when something happened that reminded her of incidents from before, her mental health tended to collapse. She had been less prone to it since she had started interacting fully with Meisa, but her current state was not as unusual as he would like.

Not that her grandfather blamed her for her occasional break downs. She had been the subject of so much trauma when she was younger, between school, the bullies, and the loss of her parents, that he was pleasantly surprised that she was able to function as well as she was.

This downswing, caused by having been pushed down the stairs by bullies, having been gas-lighted by the teachers and not only breaking the Millennium Puzzle but also losing a piece of it, was understandable, but made him mad as hell. Sugoroku had phoned up the school and had a long conversation with the Principle about the way the teachers had reacted to his granddaughter's injuries. He did not think that it was going to help much. In the past the school had ignored his attempts to get justice for Yugi, but he had at least tried. It was the most he could do.

He just hoped that his other granddaughter could come home soon. He missed the Spirit of the Puzzle, even if it was occasionally hard to tell the difference between her and Yugi, and he was seriously worried about how okay she was going to be when they got her back.

"Hey, Jii-san?" At the young man's soft tone, Sugoroku looked over at Katsuya. "She'll be back. Bakura's hunting out the Puzzle piece for us, and you just know she'll want to rub this in Meisa's face, so she'll get it as fast as possible."

"I'm sure you're right. I can't help but worry, though." The old gamer smiled ruefully. "That's my job as a responsible adult."

Jou just sighed and shrugged, still getting used to having a responsible adult in his life. "At least you know we're trying?"

Sugoroku nodded. "And I'm grateful for that, believe me."

"I should head up, but I'll be in Yuge's room if you want me." Katsuya shouldered the backpack.

"Make sure you leave the door ajar," Doctor Mutou tutted, though he was clearly more amused than he was pretending.

"Yeah, yeah." The teen just waved it off and headed back upstairs. He was just down the corridor from Yugi's attic conversion when he heard her phone ringing.

"Moshi moshi?" Yugi's voice shook a little as she answered the phone. "Honda?"

Jonouchi entered the bedroom to find Yugi pacing. "No, she's not come here… she's what?"

When Yugi paled, Katsuya held out his hand for the phone. His friend handed it over. "Yo, Honda, what's going on?"

"I lost track of Bakura in the business district a few hours ago." Honda sounded worried and frustrated. "I got a lead that she went into a shop, but I couldn't find her and they've all shut now, so I checked her house and she's not been home. Her letterbox still has post in. She's just disappeared."

"Shit," Jou breathed. "You sure she's not just waiting till late to break into somewhere?"

"Maybe, but the part of the business district she went missing in isn't like the part near the game shop. It's all big box stores, not family-run places with apartments. There's not much likelihood of the target still being there," Jou's right-hand huffed. "I think something's up."

"I'd like to say you're wrong and she's just messing with us, but…"

"She needs the Puzzle in one piece as much as we do," Honda agreed. "The question is, what's happened to her?"

The sounds of Yugi's chair scraping back drew his attention back to the tiny teen at the desk. "Yuge?"

"I heard." She spoke with the sort of calm tone that he recognized as her trying to hide her emotions. She reached for the golden treasure pieces in front of her and swept them into the golden box they had come in before rising and turning to him, head raised, posture strong, looking determined. "We need to find her."

"Yuge…" Jou started towards her.

Yugi shook her head at her friend's attempt to get her to sit back down. "Amane is my friend, and she's disappeared while trying to help me. The last time I ignored my gut telling me something was wrong, Anzu lost her soul. I'm not making that mistake again."

Katsuya paused at that, then nodded. "Alright, let's go, but stay close, okay? You're still hurt from earlier, and without Meisa…"

He trailed off, but she knew what he meant. Without the Millennium Puzzle she had no way to defend herself. She slipped the golden puzzle box into her bag, along with a small first aid kit, wanting to be helpful if they did get into trouble, and then slipped her deck holster onto her belt. Even if she could not summon without her Puzzle completed, she felt more comfortable with the cards in easy reach.

"Hey, Honda, we'll meet you at the business district," Jonouchi informed their friend as Yugi headed out the door and down into the main body of the flat.

"You sure you want Yuge out here if someone managed to grab Bakura?" Honda sounded unamused.

"I don't think I have a say in it. She'll leave with or without me. You know how stubborn she can be." Katsuya's comment earned him an amused snort. "We'll be there in ten."

He ended the call and rushed to catch up to his friend, only for the pair of them to get stopped by Jii-san. "Where are you two going?"

"Something's wrong with Amane," Yugi spoke bluntly, watching her grandfather carefully.

"You're sure?" the older gentleman asked, concerned but wary of letting the children out at this time of night.

"I know it. I don't know if she's hurt or lost or what, but something is wrong." Yugi's voice was firm, and just from her body language alone Sugoroku could see that if he tried to stop her, she would probably go out of her bedroom window. He glanced at Katsuya, who nodded, silently promising to keep the smaller Duelist safe.

"Alright, Yugi," her grandfather sighed, "but stay safe out there."

"I will, I promise." She hugged the elderly gamer tightly. He hugged her back, squeezing tightly for a moment, proud of her determination to help a friend, no matter how bad she personally felt.

The moment he let go, Yugi shot down the stairs and Katsuya followed. Walking through the streets of Domino after dark was a little creepy. There was very little moving around. Most people had already tucked themselves away for the evening, and the occasional car that passed by made them jump more than once as they raced towards the other end of the business district.

Katsuya quickly came to the realization that even injured, Yugi was not a slow runner. In fact she was a sprinter, rather than a long distance runner, as she started off fast, bolting two blocks before she slowed to a near stop to catch her breath, whereas he could have gone a lot longer if he had not been trying to stay with her. After a couple more stops, they managed to find the pace between them that pushed Yugi to get further than before without winding her badly enough to make her stop.

All the stores were closed for the night, but they had expected that as they got a block from the Black Clown, where Honda was waiting for them. As they turned the last corner, a familiar voice called, "Hey!"

Turning around revealed the speaker was Otogi Ryuji. Yugi's face lit up, but Katsuya watched him warily as he approached.

"What are you doing out here?" Otogi looked worried, though it was hard to tell what he was nervous about.

"My friend, Bakura Amane, is missing," Yugi told him, wringing her hands, concern clear on her features. "She's this tall, long white hair, brown eyes that look red in the right light."

As she gestured off the ground for her friend's height, Otogi shifted uncomfortably, recognizing the description as the Bakura that his father had locked up in the hidden games room. He had gone out for a walk in order to try and clear his head after what had happened. He had not expected to run into the girl's friends.

"We're out here looking for her." Katsuya's eyes narrowed, aware Otogi was up to something and noting the odd reaction. "Have you seen her?"

Otogi hesitated.

One the one hand he could tell them the truth and draw Yugi to the Black Clown, furthering his Otosan's plan, but running the risk of Jonouchi following them. The addition of the very physically-minded teen would cause mayhem and possibly prevent his father from ever recovering from the Penalty that Mutou Sugoroku had caused.

On the other hand, it would hurt Yugi further if she was unable to find her missing friend, moving the plan forward and making his father proud, but Otogi would be betraying one girl's trust and allowing his father to hold another girl captive.

"Otogi?" Yugi tilted her head, curious and worried about him.

"I've not seen her," Ryuji lied, the bruising on his side from where his father had struck him repeatedly aching and reminding him of the cost of betrayal. "But I'll help you look."

The grateful smile that earned him from Yugi made his stomach twist and guilt surge as he directed them away from his shop. He caught Jonouchi's eyes and noted the distrust there. He was not surprised, considering the blow up the pair of them had had in the boys' bathroom this morning. Still, there was no way the other guy could know what the Otogis were up to.

Ryuji was certain he had made the right choice when Honda caught up to them from the direction of the Black Clown, despite the skies opening. Rain fell, heavy and fast enough to make a curtain that half hid the other side of the road as Honda waved. "Hey."

"Any luck?" The worry was clear on Yugi's face as she brushed wet blonde bangs out of her face.

"Sorry, Yugi." Honda shook his head and the girl's shoulders sank.

"I don't think she's around here," Otogi pushed, hoping that the downpour slowly soaking through their clothes would encourage the group to go home.

"I'm not just going home." Yugi shook her head. "She could be hurt."

"Exactly," Honda agreed, resisting the urge to glower at Otogi. "Shall we?"

"Are you sure you want to keep looking?" Otogi pressed Yugi as they started down the next alleyway.

"If my friend is injured in one of these alleys, I don't want to leave her exposed to the weather." The Queen of Games nodded, despite the shivering that had started.

Jonouchi did not trust Otogi as far as he could throw him, and as they checked alleyway after alleyway, he was almost tempted to pin the other teen against the wall and force him to admit to what he had threatened earlier. He did not dare, though, not yet, not until they had spoken to Kaiba and managed to prevent the Black Clown heir from ripping the shop away from the Mutous.

They scoured the streets for hours, becoming colder and more hopeless as they went, Otogi became more and more aware that Yugi was going to keep searching, no matter how long it took, because despite Bakura's attitude towards the Queen of Games, Yugi considered her a close friend.

His father had always told him that Yugi would take after the heartless beast that was her Ojiisan and that she would never care about anyone. This was clear proof that his father did not know everything about their adversaries. Considering Otosan's usual attitude of 'he knew everything,' it was a shock to Ryuji's systems, one he did not like in the slightest. However, it did give him hope that maybe, just maybe, Yugi would be willing to turn on her old man when he told her what Sugoroku had done to his father.

The sounds of Jonouchi sneezing startled Otogi out of his thoughts and made Yugi turn towards him, concern on her face.

"Katsuya? You okay?" she asked.

"Me? What about you? You shake any harder, you'll fall apart," Jou retorted, watching the soaked girl sharply.

"I'm…" She paused, only realizing she had been trembling from the cold now that Katsuya had brought it up. Her shoulders sank as she checked her phone and closed her eyes for a moment, having to take a deep breath as she realized that they had been out for hours and not gotten anywhere. "Damnit."

"Yuge?" Honda asked, aware that his friend did not cuss too often.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think…" She opened her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself as she finally registered the cold that was seeping into her bones, having been distracted until now, and realized her two friends had probably been feeling it the entire time.

"Let's get you home, Yuge." Katsuya wrapped a soggy arm around her shoulders, worried and wishing he had a dry jacket to offer her. "Bakura's a smart girl, she'll have found somewhere to hide from this weather. We'd never find it, though; she's almost impossible to pin down."

Yugi sighed, aware Jou had a point and the Thief Queen probably had her lighter half ensconced somewhere safe and dry by now. Otogi tried not to grimace though. 'Almost impossible' was right, considering what had happened earlier. Jonouchi was not wrong, though: Bakura was certainly not out in this weather.

"You're no use to anyone sick, Yugi," Honda pointed out. "I'll walk you home."

"Thanks, Honda." Yugi's smile was a little watery, but he could tell she meant her words.

"Hey, what are real friends for?" he asked, catching Otogi's eyes briefly.

The game designer frowned, realizing that he had erred by threatening Jonouchi because, while he clearly had not told Yugi, he had obviously told her other friends, and he did not know them well enough to keep their mouths shut. Clearly their bond to Yugi was preventing them from telling her for now, so he did not make good on his threat to ruin the Mutous, but he could not guarantee how long that would hold. Especially when Jonouchi and Honda were deliberately getting between him and their friend.

"I can get you a ride home if you want to use one of my limos," Otogi offered, trying to work his way back in.

Yugi looked around, beginning to feel her injuries aching in the cold now the adrenaline of searching for her friend was wearing off, and then shook her head, not wanting to walk further than she had to. "No thanks, we're closer to my house, but you're welcome to come back to my shop if you like."

The young heir hesitated, tempted by the chance to visit the rival store and get some inside information.

"We're taking Yuge home. Do what you want." Katsuya stared at him coldly as he and Honda started herding Yugi towards the small store.

Otogi followed, figuring that he was never going to get another invite.

Jii-san was still up when they got back to the game shop, and he was surprised to see an extra teen with them.

"Yugi, go have a hot shower and get to bed," he ordered. Yugi did not fight him. She just nodded to both boys and headed upstairs, moving stiffly. Once she was gone, he looked at Honda. "I assume you're sharing Katsuya's room again?"

"If you don't mind?" Honda ran a hand through his hair, looking sheepish.

"Of course not, Yugi's friends are always welcome." He smiled before turning to Otogi. "I haven't met you before."

Ryuji had to hold himself in check as he bowed to the older man, but it was a struggle as he spoke, "Otogi Ryuji, I'm a friend of your magomasume."

Sugoroku, who had never met the boy in person before, warily considered the child in front of him. The boy was possibly an enemy, but at the same time he was a boy, it was tipping it down outside, and he claimed to be a friend of Yugi's. The old archeologist had promised Yugi that her friends could always rest in his home.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Otogi-san," Ojiisan responded. Ryuji was surprised by the politeness of it, having been expecting to be told to get out. "You may stay tonight if you wish."

Jonouchi snorted as he noted the wording.

"I would sir. I can be collected in the morning." Otogi had not missed it either.

"Did you find Bakura?" Sugoroku turned to Yugi's usual posse, concern seeping into his features.

"No. She wasn't out there." Jou grimaced. "But I needed to get Yugi inside. She's…"

"I saw." The elderly man cut him off with his own grimace, looking worried as he gazed in the direction his granddaughter had gone. Otogi could not help but feel pleased at the emotions on the old man's face. Part of his father's plan had been to destroy the retired archeologist through the only remaining member of his family, and clearly it was beginning to work.

Then the old gamer turned back to Otogi. "I can lend you clothes for sleeping in."

"I thank you… but may we talk privately?" the teen asked, wanting to hear Sugoroku's excuse for what happened to his father and find out if the elderly man regretted his actions.

The shop owner considered him for a moment, then looked to Jonouchi and Honda. "Once Yugi's done in the shower, make sure you two warm up as well, so you don't catch cold."

"Yes, Jii-san, but do you want me to…" Jou hesitated.

"I don't think Otogi wants to do more than talk, right?" Doctor Mutou gave the newcomer a sharp look.

"Of course not, you're my host after all." The younger Otogi bowed.

"Go get warm." The old man shooed him away, concerned.

Katsuya hesitated but followed his orders, Honda following with a grimace, leaving Otogi and Sugoroku alone.

"I thank you for helping Yugi try to find her friend," the elder gamer said as he opened a cupboard by the door and pulled out a large towel, which he passed to the teenager. Otogi blinked but took it and started to dry himself off. "Bakura is a close friend of hers. They've been through a lot together."

"I couldn't let her hunt alone in the rain." Otogi shrugged, smirking under the towel over his head as he heard the elderly man's footsteps pause.

"Alone? I sent Katsuya with her." Sugoroku sounded confused.

"When I found her, she was far ahead of him. I didn't even realize he was with her to start with. Anything could have happened." Ryuji twisted the knife a little, trying to undermine Jonouchi's position in the family so anything the duelist said against him sounded retributionist and lowered the boy's standing further. "Especially with how injured she is. We didn't meet up with Honda until a little later."

"I'll be having words with him," the elderly gamer lied, not entirely convinced Katsuya would have left Yugi alone and wondering what Otogi's game was. "Give me a moment."

Otogi managed to dry off the majority of his hair, and when Sugoroku returned with a large enough shirt for him to sleep in, he slipped into the kitchen to strip off and change into the dry clothes, a little nervous about changing in his enemy's home but wanting to get out of the cold, wet clothes.

"Once the other two are out of the shower, you can jump in if you like. Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" the former archaeologist asked as he waited to collect the soggy clothes to tumble dry.

"I wanted to know your side of the story when it came to you and my Otosan." He heard the old man let out a sharp hiss at his words. "I've only ever heard his side."

"Your Otosan came to me asking to be my apprentice in gaming. He wanted to be a Games Master like myself." Sugoroku sounded unhappy as he spoke, telling Otogi that he did not want to tell him this. Both were unaware that Yugi had come to grab some painkillers from the medicine cabinet and had heard him talking to Otogi, so stayed in the hallway where she could hear but not be seen. "I was willing to teach him. After all, I had retired after playing the ultimate game. I wanted someone else to get to where I had been."

"So, what happened?" Ryuji pushed, wanting to hear the man's excuses.

"Your father discovered that I had the pieces of an item of great power, and he wanted it for himself." The game designer's hand moved to the stolen Puzzle piece, realizing that it was probably part of what the old man was talking about. He took the golden artifact out of his jacket pocket and moved it to the pocket of the shirt he was borrowing so it could not be discovered when his clothes went in the tumble dryer.

Otogi had heard about the powers of the Puzzle at length. However, he had not known that his father had learned about it from Doctor Mutou.

"It wasn't mine to give away, though," the elderly gamer continued. "It had been made clear to me that it had to go to someone else, so I refused to give it to him."

Yugi's hand instinctively went to where the Puzzle normally hung, wondering how her grandfather had known that it contained part of her soul before she had ever completed it. Otogi too had paused, remembering Bakura telling him that the Puzzle's true power could only be unlocked by Yugi, suggesting that the girl WAS the someone that Mutou was talking about, but how could he have known? And how did that lead into what had happened with his father?

"He challenged me for it. One game, winner takes all." Sugoroku's voice sounded haggard. "I foolishly said yes. I still regret what happened."

"You do?" Ryuji asked, torn between surprise and anger.

"I tried to tell him." The old man spoke softly enough that Yugi had to sneak closer to hear. "I tried to warn him that the game he forced me into would have consequences, but he did not want to listen. He was overconfident, certain of his victory, and the game stole fifty years from him."

"He forced you?!" Ryuji snapped out, coming to the doorway to glare at him. "You challenged him!"

The former archeologist did not back up. "I suggested we play a game for the item; he was the one who trapped us in a tomb with the Game of Life."

"Liar," Ryuji hissed out, approaching Sugoroku. "You Challenged him to prove he was worthy and stole fifty years of his life!"

Before he could get too close, Yugi threw herself between them, arms spread wide, not willing to let him hurt her Ojiisan.

"Yugi. Move," Otogi snapped.

She shook her head and planted herself firmer, refusing to move. "I won't let you hurt him."

Anger coursed through Ryuji at this reminder that no matter what her grandfather did and even without her magic, Yugi would always stand in his way of dealing with the old man. Despite what Bakura had said, if he wanted to get the revenge for his father that he was expected to get, he was going to have to go through her or remove her from his path.

"You don't have to believe me, Otogi." The elderly gamer put his hand on his granddaughter's shoulder, grateful for the backup and proud of her for not backing down from someone she considered a friend. "But he challenged me and the Game stole his life. I know he blames me, believes I took those years, but I didn't de-age by fifty years. I'm still old."

The game designer glared at the man. "You still played against him."

"And I regret that deeply. If I had known how desperate he was to get his hands on the powers of the Millennium Puzzle, I would never have suggested we play for it." Doctor Mutou's voice wavered. "I would have just taken my things and left."

Ryuji's hands balled into fists. "When he returned from that trip, he was hurt, angry… changed! And Okaasan left us because of what you did!"

"I'm sorry."

The apology made Ryuji angrier. Yugi could see it. She stepped away from her Ojiisan and approached the other teen.

"Yugi," Sugoroku warned, worried Otogi was going to lash out at her.

"Otogi… I'm sorry," she apologized with a slight bow. "The Millennium Puzzle was meant to come to me. That's why Jii-san couldn't give it to your father. That's why all this happened. It's my fault. If you're going to be angry at anyone, be angry at me."

"Yugi…" She could hear the shock and sadness in her Jii-san's whisper, and as she straightened, she saw Otogi's face was a mix of anger, confusion, and disgust. For a moment she was afraid he was going to hit her, then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and his hands unballed.

"Maybe I should leave," he said calmly, going to grab his wet clothes to get changed again.

"No, Otogi." Sugoroku shook his head. "It's still raining out there, and you're still welcome to stay. You're allowed to be angry. That doesn't mean we're going to make you walk home at this time of the morning."

Ryuji glanced at the clock and realized it was nearly four. He grimaced. "Fine. I'll stay."

The elderly man nodded. "Are you alright on the sofa, or…"

"You can use my bed if you like," Yugi offered. "I'm shorter, so I'll be fine on the sofa."

"I'll be fine," Ryuji huffed, not wanting any sympathy from the girl who was willing to protect her grandfather by trying to get the blame laid on her, rather than him and blame fate for what had happened to his father.

She nodded and headed for the door, shoulders sunk, head down, aware that Otogi probably hated her.

"Yugi." She paused and turned back to him. "The other Millennium Items, are they destined for certain wielders too?"

"I think so?" she replied the only way she could, her voice soft and sad, "but I know that they've had other holders over the ages until they could find their rightful place. I think the Puzzle is the only one who has only ever had one holder since Ancient Egypt. I'm the only one who can complete it."

Ryuji nodded, understanding, and Yugi headed for bed.

"Otogi, please don't be too angry with Yugi," Doctor Mutou pleaded quietly. "She's a good girl, and she is doing her best. She might blame herself, but she's not at fault for my actions when she was a baby. I'm the one who allowed the Puzzle to connect to her like it has."

The game designer did not respond, just flopped onto the sofa, pulling the blanket laid over the back over him. The elderly gamer sighed and collected the wet clothes and put them in the tumble dryer before heading to bed himself for what little sleep he could get before he had to be awake to open the store.

Otogi curled into a ball, disappointment, anger, and pain swirling inside him. He had hoped so hard that Yugi could be drawn to their side in all of this, and tonight had proved one very important thing.

She could never be their ally.

It was a massive disappointment, but it was tempered by one particularly important fact. There was a chance they may not be able to get their hands on the Puzzle. Even if they did, it was possible that they may not be able to access its full powers. He still wanted to try; in fact he now wanted to battle Yugi more than ever. However, if their plan failed, they had another Item. One stolen from the girl held captive in the shop. The girl who might be able to retrieve the years stolen from his father.

They had the Millennium Ring.

If they failed to recover the Puzzle from Yugi, they could turn that on Yugi and her grandfather instead.


	11. Truth Told

Yugi was unable to sleep.

She had tried, but worry for her missing friend had prevented it, assisted by the repeating memory of the blow up with Otogi and the fear for her other self.

Instead she found herself working on the Millennium Puzzle, knowing she could not complete it, but needing to clear her head and help the one person she knew she could help right now.

The further she got with it, the more an aching pain sank into her, her mind went fuzzy, her stomach churned, and her head pulsed as her body objected to the lack of rest, but there was no point in trying to sleep because her brain would not shut up long enough to let her settle.

Working on the Puzzle had always helped her calm down after a bad day before, and it was the same again. The difficulty of it meant that she had to focus on it and only it if she wanted to make any progress, allowing her to ignore the rising nausea and the stress of recent events.

"I'm sorry, Anesan," she murmured as she worked, piece after piece clicking into place as she silently wished she could see her other self. "I'll free you again, I promise."

Meisa had promised that whenever she had worked on the Puzzle, their souls had connected. She wanted to believe that it was true and that her light could protect her twin from the darkness.

As the last piece she currently held clicked into place, disappointment crashed into her. Without the last piece there was no bond between them. At least not on her end. She still could not sense her sister's soul.

Yugi rested her head against the golden item, swallowing back the sob she could feel rising.

"Anesan, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered, hoping beyond hope that even without a full connection it would reach her dark half. "I couldn't protect the Puzzle. I couldn't protect you. But I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to help. And when I get the last Puzzle piece back, the first thing I'm going to do is release you from the Shadows, I swear it. Please, just hang in there."

For just a moment, she thought she felt something feebly brush through her mind. It was so weak that she could not tell what her twin was trying to send, but just the belief that they had been able to connect was enough to ignite Yugi's hope that, yes, this was working, and give her a moment of relief.

"I'm fine, Anesan." It was a lie, the only lie she had ever told her darker half. She was not okay, not even slightly, but her twin needed to think she was, needed to be able to trust that Yugi would be able to complete the Puzzle again. "A little fritzed, but I'm fine. I'll have you free soon. I promise."

The sound of a loud crash from the living room made her jump, jarring the Puzzle cupped in her hands and causing the thing to fall apart again with a rattle of the chain that she had attached the top piece onto before she had started. Yugi let out an exasperated, angry huff as she shot to her feet and stalked towards the living room, where she found Jou and Otogi glaring at each other.

"What is going on?!" she bit out, shaking in her frustration and upset at having hours of work come undone, putting Meisa at the mercy of the Shadows once again.

Katsuya froze at the sight of the girl in the doorway, wondering if she was aware she was glowing slightly with a soft white light, but Otogi just grimaced. "Jonouchi decided to renew a conversation we were having the other day. I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

Yugi glanced at the clock and huffed as she realized she would have had to put the Puzzle down soon anyway, since it was nearly seven and she had to be ready for school by half past.

"Please don't fight in my house." Yugi spoke firmly, none of the physical shaking coming though in her voice. "I know you don't like us, Otogi, and I'm guessing, Katsuya, you don't like him, but I can't… not right now. So please, both of you. Stop."

The two teens looked embarrassed at being scolded as Yugi stalked into the kitchen and put bread on to toast while she threw clean clothes on. It was not until she had retreated to her room and started to change that she realized she had just yelled at the pair while in her nightdress. Blushing in embarrassment, she threw on her school clothes and swept the Puzzle pieces back into their box, wanting to keep them close.

Part of her wanted to head to the now open shops and ask around. There was a chance that someone had seen her friend, and she wanted to find out what had happened. However, if she skipped school and Bakura had been messing with them or had been waiting until later to break into somewhere, she would miss her friend and the Puzzle piece.

It made sense for her to wait until later to head for the shops. It would be more likely that the late shift staff from yesterday would be on duty, and Amane was pretty distinctive, so if they had seen her friend last night, they would be able to tell her where she had gone. She did not like the idea of leaving her friend in trouble, but she was not sure what else she could do. At least right now. The late staff would not be in until midday at the earliest.

The best option, she decided, was to head into school, and if Amane was not in, bail at lunch time, when the first of the evening staff came in. She could head for the shops, ask around, and then give the location to Jou and the others so they could all go and help their friend.

Having made up her mind, she headed back to the kitchen. Jou was already eating her toast, but thankfully he had put more on for her. While she waited, she pulled Otogi's clothes out of the tumble dryer and handed them to the other teen. He went to get changed, which gave Katsuya a chance to ask, "How're you doing? Did you get any sleep?"

"What's sleep?" Yugi responded with a yawn as she buttered the bread that popped out, trying to ignore the fact the smell made her want to throw up, and then put one more round in for Otogi.

Her friend snorted, feeling much the same way despite the couple of hours he had gotten. "Has Bakura tried to call?"

Yugi grimaced as she checked her phone and found that once again, there was nothing. When she shook her head, Jou grimaced. Otogi re-entered the room and noted she looked worried, causing him to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Amane still hasn't messaged me," the girl responded, looking troubled as she handed her plate of toast to Otogi, no longer hungry.

"She might have overslept," Ryuji offered, trying not to think about the fact that the girl in question probably had not slept at all and certainly was not getting breakfast.

"True, but…" Yugi trailed off and shook her head, clearly worried.

Otogi huffed and pushed the toast aside, trying to hide that her concern was actually bothering him. "I'm going to head home. I'll see you at school."

He did not give them a chance to respond as he headed for the door, ringing for one of the cars as he went. Within minutes his limo was picking him up and driving him to the Black Clown.

It was just opening its doors when he got there, but he did not stop to speak to any of the staff. Instead he headed straight for the upper floors. Knocking on his father's office door proved fruitless, and he was about to turn away when he heard a female voice cry out in pain.

He entered without permission to find the door to the hidden room was open, and his father, assisted by a couple of the less scrupulous security men they had hired, had entered to 'talk' with the girl trapped within.

One of the men blocked the door as the other had a firm grip on the girl, who had her left hand pressed against her right side, suggesting she had been hit, and with the way his father had his cane raised, he clearly planned to strike her again.

"Otousan." Otogi's call to his father made the older man pause and turn to look at him.

"About time you got home. Where the hell have you been?" the shop owner demanded.

"Gathering information from the Mutous. Yugi was out all night looking for our guest." Bakura let out a startled noise at that, then looked up at Otogi with a pained, sad, disappointed expression, coming to the realization he had lied to her friends as he said, "I distracted her, don't worry."

"I should hope so." His father sounded far too pleased with his actions before turning to Amane. "See, girl? No one is coming to help you, just accept it and do what you promised."

He was not expecting the response he got.

She spat at him, making him recoil.

"Never," Amane hissed out, earning herself another blow from Kintaro's cane, which slammed into her side.

She did not give the older Otogi the reaction he was looking for, instead biting back the pained noise and giving the clown the smuggest look she could muster.

"I will never, ever help you, and I will never give you MY Millennium Item," she swore. "You don't deserve it."

The cane slammed into exactly the same spot as before, but she just managed to squash the pained gasp, refusing to give him what he wanted.

"You can't beat the Mutous by yourself, can you?" she taunted the elder Otogi, channeling her darker self. "That's why you need to control your son. Why you hit and abuse him. Why you control everything about him! But you've screwed yourself over. The Millennium Items need someone with a strong mind and heart to control them. Anyone else will get ripped apart by the darkness. Neither of you is worthy of holding one!"

She was proud of the anger that caused. A few weeks ago, if someone had told her that they wanted to take the Millennium Ring from her, she would have gift wrapped it for them. The Ring had put her through hell since she had made the mistake of picking it up, and she would have been glad to be rid of it.

However, after Duelist Kingdom, when she had bonded better with the spirit of her item, found out why Ba-Khu-Ra was the way she was, and come to the realization that the ghost within did actually give a damn about her, there was no way that she was going to just give it up now.

She was determined to get the hell out of here and take her Ring with her, and if she could insult these assholes in the process, she was more than happy to.

"You realize if you help us, you would be in a much better situation," Otogi Kintaro stated, the anger in his tone proving she had gotten to him.

"You held me prisoner and you expect me to help you?" She snorted, trying not to show how afraid she was.

"What other choice do you have?" the elderly man asked with a snort. "You can't escape, and even if you did, you'd be leaving the Millennium Ring with us. Why fight us?"

"I already told you why," Amane huffed. "I'm never going to play you for MY item. It's mine. I don't have to accept any challenge for it."

"You can't refuse…"

"Oh, I can," the Ring Bearer declared. "I don't have to accept any challenge I don't want to. You can't force me to make a move because if you even try touching my Ring, it'll destroy you."

"I can handle the Ring at any time I want." Otogi's father turned his back to go grab the Ring and prove it.

There was a moment where Amane was tempted to just watch him get himself killed for trying to wear an item he was not worthy of, just like her father had on that fateful night.

Then the memory of her father's body on the ground and the sheer pain of seeing the Ring destroy him flashed through her mind.

As much as she disliked the Otogis, as much as she wanted the older Otogi to receive punishment for his actions towards her and his own son, she did not want to be responsible for his death.

Amane stamped on the foot of the thug holding her. He let her go in shock as pain shot up his leg, and the Ring Bearer used the chance to slip past the startled guard at the door. That guard turned to try and grab her, while Otogi senior and the other man slipped out of a second passageway, which Ryuji was startled to see led into his gaming space.

They managed to pincer the girl between them as she tried to unhook her Ring from the clip it had been attached to while the older Otogi talked to her, and Ryuji winced at the pained sound that emerged from her as she was slammed against a wall and pinned there by one of the guards.

"Smart, girl, very smart," Kintaro huffed, ill amused as the guard pinning Amane grabbed the girl's wrists, trapping them behind her. "But not smart enough: you shouldn't have stopped to grab your Ring."

"Otousan, let me handle this?" Otogi suggested, uncomfortable and wanting to at least try to prevent the true Ring Bearer from being any more hurt. "Perhaps talking, rather than fighting, will get us further."

There was a moment where the clown watched his son sharply, wondering what he was up to. Then he nodded. Otogi gestured for the guard who had his hands on Amane to follow him.

"Ryuji?" his father demanded. "Where are you taking her?"

"Just let me handle this." The son gave his father a sharp look, asking him to trust him. Kintaro considered Ryuji for a moment, then huffed.

"Fine, but she goes back to her research once you're done." He turned to go close the doors, leaving Ryuji with the guards and Amane.

The girl in question held her tongue as they headed into a small, private kitchenette area, wondering what the heck Ryuji was up to.

"You, guard the door." He gestured to the second man and then turned to the one holding Amane. "Bathroom."

Amane gave him a confused look as she was shoved inside the bathroom and the door was partly closed behind her, enough to give her some privacy, but not enough to allow her to lock it behind her. She glanced around and grimaced as she realized there was no window and no escape route.

"I would suggest you use the time wisely," Otogi called through the door as she heard him clattering around the kitchen. "Otousan will only tolerate my interference in his scheme so long. Especially when you said you can fix him."

The Ring Bearer took the hint, using the loo and washing herself using the sink before being escorted to the kitchen, where she was forced into a seat.

"What do you want?" Amane asked, confused and wary.

"I've spent the entire night watching your friends freak out because you were missing," Ryuji explained as he made her some breakfast. Just some cereal, nothing that would require giving her a knife, but from the way the girl's stomach rumbled at the sight of it and she tucked in quickly, he was fairly sure it was appreciated. "And unlike Otousan, I care about your wellbeing."

"Then give me my Ring back and let me go," the Ring Bearer snarked.

"Wish I could." He sighed, gesturing for her to eat. When she started eating, he settled down opposite her. "You weren't wrong. I'm not free either."

Bakura paused to consider him, then nodded, having suspected as much, and continued eating. Otogi paused then got her a drink, which she sipped slowly despite how thirsty she was.

"Otousan wants to get back at Mutou-Sensei so badly that nothing else matters to him." The sadness in Ryuji's voice did not need to be faked. "And after Okaasan abandoned him because of what Mutou did, I had nowhere else to go. I have to follow through, or I'll be out on the street."

"And you're willing to follow him even with what he's doing now?" Amane asked, curious and a little bitter.

Otogi's grimace told her he was not happy about the current situation. "I didn't want this for you. I also hoped Yugi would get out of my way. Unfortunately, you told Otousan you can fix him, and he's not going to let that chance go, and Yugi…"

"She'll risk her soul for her Ojiisan." Amane grimaced when Ryuji sighed and sat back.

It matched up to what he had seen of Yugi last night.

"It leaves me with no choice. I need to get her out of the way before Otousan does to her what he's doing to you, or worse," the younger Otogi huffed, "because I saw last night that it doesn't matter if she hears the truth, she will get between us and her Ojiisan."

The Ring Bearer paused to consider that. He was only slightly wrong about the Puzzle Bearer. There was no way that Yugi was not going to protect her grandfather. If the truth really was against him, she would still stand up for him, but she would be more willing to hear the other side out. Considering how quickly Otogi Kintaro had turned to violence when she had told him she had not made any progress yet, she could easily imagine that he would lash out at Yugi if, or rather when, she stood up to him.

"You know, we could help you with your father…"

"Otousan is not in the wrong." Ryuji cut her off, anger in his tone. "Mutou Sugoroku was the one who refused to give him the Puzzle and challenged him. He should have just handed the damn thing over. Then none of this would have happened."

The game master paused as she considered that new piece of information. "He was after the Puzzle back then, too?"

The game designer nodded shortly as Amane finished her cereal bowl. "Yes, but Mutou wouldn't hand it over because of Yugi."

"Yugi is bound to that item." The girl sighed, not entirely comfortable with talking about this around the guards, but since Otogi had started it, she needed to get him thinking while there was still time. "If she hadn't received it… things would be bad."

"What do you mean?" The young man frowned.

"Look up the comas in…" And she listed everywhere she had visited between getting the Millennium Ring and arriving in Domino City. She saw his eyes go wider and wider as he double checked the information and beheld the sheer numbers. "That would still be happening."

Ryuji sat back, eyes still wide as he considered the number of children who had been in comas. "She stopped this from happening?"

Amane reluctantly finished the drink and nodded. "And reversed it, which she could only do because she finished the Puzzle."

The game designer grimaced. "That doesn't make what happened right."

"No," the game master agreed, "but it's something else to consider when you're thinking about what you're doing. Doing what she did took an insane amount of energy and power, and she could only do it with full access to the Puzzle's power. No one else could have."

He just nodded, biting his lower lip as he considered this new information.

"I know you probably don't want advice from me, but I'm in a similar position to you, trapped assisting in someone else's revenge." Otogi's head snapped towards the other teen. "There is one really important thing I've learned. You might have to watch as your tormentor hurts others, you might even be forced to help them, but you don't have to be like them. You don't have to follow in their footsteps and hurt those who don't deserve it. You can be a better person. Even if there's a cost."

Otogi did not respond immediately. Instead he got to his feet, paused, and then grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as Amane was forced to her feet by the guards. He walked her back to the room containing the Game of Life, nodding to his father as he passed. He escorted her back to the table and used the opportunity to hide the water bottle behind one of the thick table legs.

As he stood up, he gave her a hard stare that he did not particularly feel. "Surrender the Millennium Ring to me tonight, and Otousan will probably let me give you another meal."

"I'm not giving up my Ring," Amane bit back, though she was not sure how much of his attitude was an act, considering the water bottle he had left her.

"Then you won't eat," he huffed as he turned to leave, trying to think if he could ensure the girl's escape before then and internally flinching at the thought of just how badly his father would react. After all, Bakura had promised to fix what the Game of Life had broken. He could not justify freeing the girl when there was a chance she could give him his father back. The food and drink was the best he could do. At least for now.

The guards followed him through as he tumbled her words over in his head and ensured the door was shut behind them. His father was not wrong to want revenge on the older Mutou for what had been done to him, but did that really mean hurting someone who had not been involved at all? Did Bakura and Yugi deserve what they were going through?

"Ryuji." The teen stopped midway out of the office door at his father's call.

"Yes, Otousan?" he asked as he turned to look at the elderly man, who was sat at his desk, and tried not to shudder.

"I've got business to handle today," the clown-masked man informed him as he checked that the Millennium Ring was securely fastened to the clip on the wall. "So I will be out of the building most of the day. Make sure you've made progress by the time I next see you."

"Yes, Otousan." Ryuji bowed, wondering what his father expected him to do in the space of one day.

"Which class is Bakura in?" The creepy clown did not give him any hints, only reached for the phone.

"2-F." Ryuji frowned, confused as to why it mattered.

"Thank you…" He picked up the phone and started dialing. "We're so close I can taste it, my boy. Soon I'll be young again, and the Mutous will be less than nothing. Especially since I put in that application you filled out to buy the land their shop's on from Kaiba Corp."

The teen gulped, having not actually planned on filing that, despite what he had threatened Jonouchi with. He had only started the paperwork to show his father he was trying something to create issues for the Mutous.

"I wouldn't have thought of that, Ryuji. I'm actually proud of you." Kintaro's malicious pleasure made his son's heart twist uncomfortably. "Now get going or you'll be late."

Ryuji left as fast as he could, highly uneasy with how much pleasure his father was taking from causing others pain and with Bakura's words ringing in his head.

* * *

Yugi was worried.

She had headed into school early, hoping to catch Amane at the gates, only to find the girl had not come through them before the bell rang, and just after taking the register, the teacher turned to Anzu. "Mazaki, Bakura's Otousan rang in. She went straight home after school yesterday, threw up, and has been ill since. As class president, can you collect copies of her homework so you can drop it off to her?"

Anzu agreed, but Yugi, Honda, and Katsuya looked at each other. They knew she was not at home, which meant someone had possibly grabbed her and was now giving a cover story to the school to avoid suspicion regarding her disappearance. Someone who knew what school and class she was in.

This was bad. This was really bad.

Yugi had a horrible feeling that it was linked to the person from the school who had walked off with a piece of her Millennium Puzzle. She just wished that she had some sort of lead on who that was.

She tried to focus on her schoolwork, but her mind kept tumbling over everyone who had been there when she had fallen down the stairs. She trusted Anzu, Katsuya, and Honda. Bakura was her enemy, but she needed the Puzzle as whole as Yugi did. Not only that, she was now, somehow, being held captive, and that meant the enemy was rather intelligent.

There was one person, though, who kept coming to mind.

The boy who had been pushing himself on her, causing the girls to attack her.

Who had just happened to be there to catch her when she had fallen down the stairs and had been in the perfect position to steal a Puzzle piece without anyone noticing.

Who had been where they had gone to look for Bakura, tried to steer them away from his shop, and tried to encourage her and her friends to go home without looking for their friend.

Who knew which class Bakura was in and could have rung in before he came to school.

She wanted to be wrong, she really did, but as the lunch bell rang, she headed for Otogi's classroom, wanting to talk to him, and hoping she was wrong.

Otogi was showing off to some of the girls in his class when she stepped in. The moment he saw her, however, his expression darkened for a moment before he apologized to his admirers and made his way over.

"Yugi?"

"We need to talk. Now," she told him firmly. "Privately."

He paused, frowning, and then nodded and followed her out. She led him to the empty club room corridor and then turned to him. "Otogi… I…"

When she hesitated, he tilted his head. "What's up?"

"I want to be wrong. I really want to be wrong about this, but…" The worried and slightly angry expression on Yugi's face concerned Ryuji. "Otogi? You have my friend and a piece of my Puzzle, don't you?"

"What? No!" On anyone else it would have worked, but the momentary panic and irritation at getting called out gave him away to a girl who had been practicing reading expressions against a Game Master for almost as long as she could remember.

"Otogi, don't lie to me," she confronted him. "Where is it? And where's Amane?"

"How would I know where your friend is?" Again, for anyone else he could have covered the nervousness up, but Yugi saw it.

"She was hunting the missing piece of my Puzzle. You were the only one who was in a position to grab a piece without my friends seeing, which means she would have come to confront you," Yugi reasoned out. "Where. Is. She?"

Ryuji paused to consider his options. He had not expected to be called out this quickly. He was too tired to be dealing with this after last night's search, and from the way Yugi was moving, he could see that she was, too.

If he came clean here, he had no escape options and she would call her friends down on him. If he lied and claimed he did not have the Puzzle piece, there went his reveal later. Then again, that was already spoiled, considering how angry Yugi was. Really, he had only one option that got her to do what he wanted…

He pulled the golden piece out of his pocket and saw the Queen of Games halt, her expression momentarily distraught, like she had been honest when she had said she did not want to be right, then it was cleared and she was glaring at him.

"Give that back!" she demanded, taking a step forward.

"Stay right there, or I'll destroy it," he warned, making her freeze.

"Otogi…"

"Make a scene, tell anyone else, and I'll destroy this piece and I won't tell you where Bakura is," he threatened, cutting her off. He saw her hands ball into fists as anger flooded through her. "You will come to the Black Clown game store tonight, and we will play a game, got it?"

"If you wanted to play a game, you could have asked me," Yugi bit out, furious beyond measure that Otogi was holding three of her friends prisoner to get to her. Amane and Bakura directly, and Anesan by holding onto that Puzzle piece. "We can play right now if you want."

"No." Otogi shook his head, angry that his plans had fallen apart so badly. "You will come to the Black Clown tonight after school, and we will play then. Win and you can have this piece back. Lose and you give me the rest of them."

"You're doing this to get the Puzzle?!" Yugi snapped at him, her voice getting louder as she took a step forward, posture tensing up like she was going to lunge for the Puzzle piece. "You pretended to like me, kidnapped my friends, and stole a piece of MY Puzzle, because you want the…ack!"

She got cut off as Otogi grabbed her by the collar and slammed her against the wall. The pained cry she let out as she collided with the wall made him put his hand over her mouth, muffling it and anything else Yugi could say.

When she struggled, trying to free herself, he adjusted so he could use his greater size, strength, and body weight to pin her firmly, hesitating when he twisted Yugi's left arm sharply and she let out a muffled, pained sound, her face scrunching up to match.

The sound covered the quiet sounds of a first-year girl letting out a soft gasp and darting away to get help.

Shame crashed through Otogi, and his mind flashed back to this morning, when his father and the goons had manhandled Bakura in the same way. He quickly loosened his grasp, remembering the Ring Bearer's words. His father was not there to punish him for being soft. He did not have to act on what his father would want him to do.

Yugi was still hurt from her fall the day before, and he did not have to be responsible for aggravating those wounds. Especially when his father was not looking.

He could feel her trembling in his grasp as he hissed out, "Sorry. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt either of you."

Pain-darkened eyes opened, and she gave him a confused look over the hand keeping her from speaking.

"If you promise to keep your voice down, I'll let you go." When Yugi nodded, he released her.

"Ow," Yugi murmured, more to herself than Ryuji as she rubbed her arm.

"Sorry…" The Puzzle Bearer looked over at the teen holding three friends and a piece of her Puzzle hostage. He honestly looked ashamed, which she was kind of surprised about.

"Why are you doing this?" Yugi hated herself for the way her voice shook and tried to suppress the upset and anger that were surging through her. "Is it really all because you want my Puzzle?"

"Otousan… he's suffering because of what your Ojiisan did. I need to help fix him."

"How does kidnapping my friend help? Amane and I have nothing to do with any of this."

"Bakura said she could undo the Penalty on my father and get him back his lost years." The Game Designer shook his head. "And you're a Mutou. You're attached to this by family."

"She said… do you have any idea how hard it is to undo a Penalty?" The Queen of Games stared at him. "How much energy and power that takes? The magic might even recoil onto her. She won't take that risk if you treat her badly, it's too dangerous."

"If she won't help, I'll take the Ring from her by force and undo the Penalty myself," Ryuji half-lied, scowling as her words matched up to what Bakura had said about Yugi reversing the comas. "Once I've used it to get revenge on your Ojiisan."

"Leave him alone." Yugi glowered back. "And let my friend go. What's stopping me from going to the police right now?"

Fear crashed into Otogi. If she called the police and they found Bakura, both he and his father would get arrested, and they would lose everything. He could not let that happen. He was too far in over his head to be able to talk his way out of it, and his father would not be able to get the medication he needed because of the rapid aging.

"You honestly think we're stupid enough to hold Bakura at the shop?" he demanded, keeping his tone firm and determined, despite the terror under the surface. "If you call the cops or bring your friends with you, I'll destroy the Puzzle piece and I won't tell you where your friend is. You'll never see her again."

Just the threat to the Puzzle piece was enough to make Yugi pull back. If it was destroyed, Anesan would be trapped in the Shadows forever. The additional threat to Amane's freedom made her back down entirely. She could not risk the safety of her friends.

As Otogi saw the resistance drain out of the girl, a tiny part of him was pleased she was going to listen to him, but that was almost drowned out by the self-loathing caused by his words and actions.

He wanted to defeat Yugi and prove himself, yes, but this was not right.

"All of this… all of this because my Jii-san won a game? A magical game that both players knew had consequences?" she breathed, sadness and hurt clear on her face.

The look she was giving him drove guilt firmly into him, so he turned away.

"We do what we have to do for our family. I'll be waiting at the gate, by my limo; come alone, or else."

With that, he left.

Yugi moved back against the wall and slid down it, ending up sat on the floor with her head resting on her knees.

Otogi had Amane and Ba-Khu-Ra. Otogi had her Puzzle piece. Otogi had hurt her…

She was angry, she felt betrayed, she wanted to lash out, and she was not normally the sort to hit someone.

Suddenly she had a better understanding of how Ba-Khu-Ra had felt when she had thought the Pharaoh had betrayed her. Only it must have been so much worse for the Spirit of the Ring. She had only known Otogi for a few days. The Thief Queen had known Anesan for years.

She let herself vent the anger through tears and then got to her feet and brushed her eyes with the back of her hand. She could not tell anyone or let them find out. The safety of her friends depended on her walking into danger without telling anyone.

She would do it, too. She was not going to let them down.

First, however, she needed to get through today, and to do that she needed to look like she had not been crying.

She went to the girls' bathroom and cleaned herself up, ignoring the dirty looks that she was getting from some of the other girls. Tomorrow, once everyone was safe, she was going to publicly tell everyone that Otogi was an ass, there was nothing between them, there had never been anything between them, and any other girl was welcome to him. Today, however, she had to put up with the dirty looks and not make a scene.

Anzu came rushing in, pushing past the girls leaving the bathroom. "Yugi? Are you alright?"

Yugi checked she could pass for normal before putting on a fake smile for the dancer. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"One of the Kobayashis, Maru, I think Jonouchi said her name was, came to find us and said you'd gotten in a fight. We were worried." Anzu fussed as she checked her friend over, ensuring she was unharmed before she huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yugi lied, her tone even enough to cover for it. "Just needed the bathroom. Kobayashi must have been mistaken."

Her friend pursed her lips, not entirely sure that she believed her, then sighed. "Kaiba's in. He said he wants to talk to you."

Yugi face palmed, having noticed Kaiba was in today, but so distracted with Amane's disappearance that she had not even thought to acknowledge him. "Great, just great."

"You okay?" Anzu pushed, concerned.

"Fine, fine." She tried to wave it off. "I just forgot he would want to talk to me."

The dancer nodded, still worried, but fully aware that even if Yugi had gotten into a fight, there was no guarantee that she would tell her friends so they would not get into trouble.

Yugi sighed and headed for the classroom, aware Anzu did not believe her and half-expecting to get back to the classroom to find Jonouchi and Kaiba having a verbal spat. However, Anzu caught up to the boys in the corridor, letting them know Yugi was okay, distracting them, while Yugi headed into the classroom where Kaiba was waiting at his desk.

His eyes narrowed as Yugi approached. "Mutou. You appear to be missing something."

"It'll be fixed soon." She shrugged it off, really not able to go into it right now. "How can I help you?"

"We're having a meeting, tonight after school," he stated as her friends entered the room, "to discuss the debt between us."

"Not tonight. It can't be tonight." Yugi shook her head, not able to deal with Kaiba and Otogi at the same time. "Tomorrow."

"I cleared my schedule for tonight. I don't have time tomorrow." The CEO of Kaiba Corp scowled at the girl, able to easily see something was wrong and certain that it was not just the missing Puzzle. This Yugi was normally so much more polite than her other self. Her current behavior was unusual and suggested greater problems.

"I have another meeting tonight," Yugi informed him, trying not to insult Kaiba but also struggling to deal right now. "One I can't push aside… when are you free after tonight?"

"Mutou… are you in trouble?" The question nearly made her laugh. That was one way of putting it.

She shook her head, though, remembering Otogi's threats. "No, no, I've just got an important meeting which I can't miss."

His eyes narrowed, planning on interrogating her friends when she was not looking to find out what exactly was going on and who he had to drop kick to get her attention focused where it should be. On him. "Friday?"

"Friday. Friday is good." Yugi relaxed. "I can do Friday."

At least she hoped she could do Friday and she was not going to get kidnapped or killed tonight.

When he dismissed her with a sharp nod, she slumped back into her seat and put her head down. If she was going to be rescuing her friends tonight, she wanted at least a little shut eye before then.

While she was napping, Jonouchi looked over at Kaiba, then pointed out of the door.

The CEO, who would normally completely ignore the mutt, nodded and rose to his feet.

If there was one thing he hated, it was not having all the information. It made him make bad decisions, and he refused to make poor decisions regarding Yugi. Both because of everything he owed her and because of everything he still needed to win back.


	12. Roll the Bones

The school bell ringing for the end of the day had never sounded so ominous to Yugi.

Having been watching the clock closely, she had already packed away her things, so the moment it went she got to her feet and shot out the door, heading straight for Otogi's limo, narrowly making her way into the crowds and successfully losing Katsuya, who had been on her tail.

The other game shop heir was down at the car only minutes later, and he looked torn between pleasant surprise and sad amusement. "I see you're keen to get started."

"I want my friend and my grandfather safe," she informed him as she slid inside the limo and fired off a text to Jou to take home the club room keys that she had left inside her desk, kind of worried that if she got hurt tonight, she would not be able to open the club room for the other Senshi tomorrow. The moment the doors were shut and they were on their way, she added, "I want Amane freed before the game."

"Bakura isn't my prisoner," Otogi admitted slowly with a grimace. "Otosan is the one keeping her from leaving."

"So, it's your father I need to rescue my friend from," Yugi sighed, leaning back in her seat, and watching the world go by, not really having anything else to say to him.

Otogi grimaced, not wanting Yugi anywhere near his old man, and torn between his need to help his father get his lost years back and his steadily increasing understanding that what he and his father were doing was not right.

His concentration had been completely shot this afternoon. His mind had kept returning to the two girls that were caught up in his father's schemes, guilt crashing into him like a tidal wave at the memory of Bakura's pained upset this morning and Yugi's upset question at lunch.

Between them and his own swirling thoughts, brought on by Bakura's reminder that he did not have to act like his father, and the uncomfortableness caused by his father's malicious joy at hurting others, a realization had come to him.

He was hurting people who had never done him wrong.

His father's scheme had seemed like justice for everything that had been stolen from them before they had actually started. Now that Ryuji was getting to see how much it was hurting people who had never actually done anything to the Otogis, he was finding it hard to continue.

He had a choice. He could follow his father's plan and everything could go back to normal, but Bakura and Yugi would suffer because of him.

Or he could resist his father, refuse to hurt others, and help the two girls, but he would lose everything.

His Otosan, his home, and his future.

Finally, as they turned onto the road the shop was on, he made up his mind.

"The answer, by the way, is yes, we were stupid enough to hold her at the shop. I'll let you see her, unobserved, before the game starts, but in exchange you and I are going to have a proper match. I want to know I deserve your Puzzle."

Yugi's expression brightened a little at that. If she could see Amane, she might be able to help her escape. If she was lucky, she might even be able to get the Ring back to her. If she could, Ba-Khu-Ra would definitely be able to assist in getting both Item Bearers home safely.

Even if the Thief Queen only escaped with Amane and Yugi had to make her own way out, it would be a massive step forward.

Otogi, who could see her smile in the reflection in the window, relaxed a little. He would not allow Yugi to free her friend if he could see it, but if she left the other girl a route while his back was turned, then so be it. This way he was helping them while maintaining plausible deniability.

The Black Clown looked ominous as they pulled up outside. The dark stone building and tinted glass made Yugi feel like she was walking into a villain's castle rather than a game store, including a pair of gorilla-like security thugs guarding the front door, not that it seemed to bother the customers inside.

The store inside was heaving. It was a little depressing for Yugi as she followed Otogi through. She could see some of her store's regulars here, buying double what they had bought from the Kame Game Store. One them had been a loyal customer for years. It was a sign of the future, and she was not stupid enough to miss it.

They headed through the staff area, where Otogi was informed that his father was still out and would not be back for an hour. That relieved the teen, who was certain that by the time his father got back, he would have possession of the Millennium Puzzle. Plus, it meant that if he allowed Yugi through his father's study, he was not going to get into trouble. At least not right away.

The study, thankfully, was empty, and Otogi unlocked the door to the hidden room and turned his back on the office, allowing Yugi free rein. She immediately darted for the Millennium Ring, unclipping it with difficulty as she had to stand on her tip toes to reach it, freeing the item to be returned to its Bearer, before darting into the previously locked room.

"Amane." She hugged her friend, who had been sat on the floor and looked surprised and worried at seeing her. "Here."

She handed the Millennium Ring to her friend, who stared at it for a moment, then slipped the rope over her head. Almost the moment the Item fell into place, the Spirit of the Ring took over. Ba-Khu-Ra quickly assessed the situation, swiftly realizing that her host was hungry and in pain, and then glowered at the Puzzle Bearer.

"Runt? What the hell are you doing here?" Bakura hissed out, fuming at the fact she had needed Yugi's help to get to her host.

"Rescuing you and Amane and getting my Puzzle piece back," Yugi whispered back, shoving the first aid kit from her bag into the Thief Queen's hands. "I'll distract Otogi, so you two have a chance to get away. Just mind the security guys on the front doors. They creep me out."

"I can handle it. Get out of here."

"Made a deal with Otogi Ryuji. I get to see you, I play him." The Puzzle Bearer shook her head and started to get to her feet, only to get stopped as the Thief Queen grabbed her arm.

"Do the others know you're here?" the Spirit of the Ring demanded quietly.

"Couldn't tell them." She shook her head. "He threatened to damage the Puzzle piece he has, keep you guys hostage, and take the Ring for himself to use on Jii-san."

The ancient spirit scowled at that as she pressed the die she had taken from Ryuji the day before into the Puzzle Bearer's hand, disliking the fact that she had been in a position that she could be used against the Pharaoh's brat.

"I'll be okay," Yugi promised as she got the rest of the way to her feet. "Get Amane out of here, please."

The Thief Queen paused, realizing the Runt was serious. She wanted them to flee and leave her behind, despite the fact she knew that she might end up hurt or captured herself. Respect for the Runt flickered through her. "Be careful."

"I will," Yugi promised as she unclipped a gold bracelet that had been around her wrist and slipped it into the door's runner, before nodding to her nervously and slipping out of the door.

Amane, who had tried everything she could to open the door in question over the course of the previous night, mentally danced as she realized Yugi had ensured the door would jam, making their escape easier. Bakura, on the other hand, was ticked, understanding that this rescue meant they owed the brat.

Otogi was waiting for her in the corridor past the office, and he shut the door to the hidden room, his inexperience with the mechanism causing him to miss that it did not lock again. He then led his adversary to the workroom, where his brand-new game was set up. Yugi's hand wrapped tightly around the black die as she approached the board, realizing that she had no idea what they were about to play.

"This is Dungeon Dice Monsters," he announced as he set the board up. "I designed this game specifically to face you. If I win, it'll be released in the store. We have hundreds of pre-orders already. You're the final beta tester."

Yugi would have been honored, but she was too nervous and angry about everything that was going on to really take that in. "What're the rules?" Yugi pushed, wanting to know before she picked her dice.

Otogi nearly made a snide comment about a Master Gamer being able to play without knowing the rules in advance. Then he remembered Bakura telling him that Shadow Games had to be fair and that those who cheated suffered. If he was going to be the new Puzzle Bearer, then he should get used to playing fair games.

He slid a rule book across the table to Yugi, who picked it up and took a quick read through the rule book to get some idea of the basics, then took a more serious look as Otogi set out the dice for her to pick between.

She was not going to let this be another Dragon Cards situation. She was determined that she was going to have all the information before she got going.

"Yugi," Ryuji called as he took the Puzzle piece out of his pocket and it clicked against the table, "place your wager."

She pulled the golden box out of her bag, along with the top piece, whose chain no longer fit in the box, and put both items on the table next to her, determined that by the end of the night, every piece of the Puzzle was going to be back in her hands, and by morning her twin sister was going to be free.

"Otogi. If I win, I want one more thing. You're going to leave Jii-san alone. Understood?" she stated, staring at him without breaking contact.

Ryuji looked away first as he nodded. "Fine, but if I win, you're going to teach me how to use the powers of the Puzzle."

"Deal," Yugi agreed, certain that it would not come to that.

"The let the game begin." He gestured to the dice.

Yugi picked from amongst them, selecting blue warrior dice and white spellcaster, adding the black die Bakura had given her as her final one. Otogi's eyes widened when he saw it. "When did you get that?"

"Bakura had it." Yugi shrugged as she took her seat. "Problem?"

"No, no." Otogi shook his head. "I just thought I had lost that die."

Yugi nodded and tipped her small collection of dice into the shuffler, taking a deep breath. She could win this. She knew she could. When the table spat out three of her dice, she went to roll, only to pause when a small figure, a little wizard with three red hearts on, rose up from the board on a red platform, while a vicious looking clown rose up on a blue one on Otogi's side of the field.

"That's my Dungeon Master, right?" Yugi checked, trying to remember the rules.

"That's right, if he gets struck three times, it's all over." Ryuji nodded, wondering if he should have kept the rulebook to himself as he rolled his dice, becoming pleased when two summon crests appeared in his roll.

Yugi, who had the rulebook on her lap, open at the crest page, grimaced slightly as Otogi crowed, "If I have two of the same crests, I can use that ability this turn. Since I got two summon crests, I can do this…"

He picked up the red die he had rolled, a dragon die if Yugi was remembering correctly, and placed it on the field near his Dungeon Master. "Dimension dice."

The die suddenly unfolded, revealing a small dragon piece, which somehow roared at his opponent.

Yugi was fascinated as to how it worked, and her opponent could not help but smile slightly at the wonder on the girl's face.

Then he shook himself slightly, reminding himself that he was not supposed to care about what she felt. "Yugi, the dice unfold to create a dungeon for our monsters to traverse. The goal is to make your way to the opponent's Dungeon Master and wipe them out."

The girl nodded, nervous at fighting alone with none of her friends by her side, but wanting her Puzzle piece back. This was a new game and a new opponent, but she had defeated Kaiba Seto, so she could beat Otogi Ryuji.

She rolled her dice and grimaced when none of her crests matched.

"Too bad, Yugi." Otogi smirked. "Those three dice are high level, so they only have one summon crest on them. It makes it harder to match crests. However, you can store those unused crests to use later."

In some ways it was not a bad thing, the Duelist realized as she entered her roll into the tracker on her side of the field and slipped the dice she had rolled back into the tumbler. Once a die was dimensioned, it was out of the roll pool and could not be rolled again. With only twelve dice in their total pool, that meant she had more options for later.

It meant Otogi's dungeon was expanding faster than hers, which was not great, but meant she had an attack, a spell, and a movement crest stored to use in later turns.

Otogi rolled again, gaining a movement crest, along with matching two summon crests again on the low level dice he had deliberately picked out, allowing him to summon a second dragon and move it to the edge of his dungeon, towards Yugi's side of the field.

Yugi's next three rolls were not much more helpful, as she failed to match again, adding crests to her dice pool, but failing to summon any monsters.

"Is this the extent of your gaming skill?" the Black Clown heir taunted as he rolled, summoning a third beast, and extending his dungeon over to her half of the board. "I would have thought you would be better than this."

The Kame heiress did not bite, despite the nervousness beginning to settle in. Just because she had not had great rolls so far, it did not even slightly mean that this was over.

The quiet sound of a door closing and soft footsteps in the hallway caught her attention. She took a calming breath as she felt the Ring approach, relieved that Bakura had gotten Amane out. Glancing over at Otogi, who was pulling his next set of three dice out of the shooter, she internally grinned as she realized that he had not heard the noise.

A weight felt like it had lifted from her shoulders. Two of her friends were safe.

Now all she had to do was win this game and she could see her twin again.

Confidence flooded through her as she rolled her dice. She had defeated Crawford at his own game; she could beat Otogi, too.

The dice rewarded her with a pair of summon crests, allowing her to summon out her first monster.

The dice unfolded to reveal a small spellcaster with 500 attack points, which was more than enough to blow away one of Otogi's monsters when she combined it with both the magic crest she had rolled and the one in her dice pool.

"This game isn't over." Yugi grinned at Ryuji, who looked torn between irritation and pleasure.

Yes, he wanted his father back. Yes, he wanted Yugi out of the way of his father's revenge schemes, and no, he was not entirely free, but he had his own reasons for assisting.

His father might have wanted him to overwhelm the heiress to the rival store to humiliate the Mutou clan, but Ryuji had his own goal in mind.

He wanted to test himself against the Queen of Games.

His father had told him so many stories about the Millennium Puzzle, a legendary item of power that held the fate of the world, and the one who would complete it.

An undefeatable gamer who would never lose. Who would never turn away from a challenge. Who would be crowned the 'King of Games'.

Yugi, despite her title being 'Queen of Games' since she was a woman, was the fulfilment of that prophecy, and Ryuji wanted nothing more than to prove to himself that he was not useless and was worthy of taking her place.

He was almost glad the Puzzle had shattered. Though it meant he would have to complete it in her place when he won, it allowed him to test her true gaming prowess, rather than the skill she inherited from the Item.

"Good." Otogi smirked as he rolled and dimensioned another die, this time without another monster taking the field.

Yugi paused to look down at the board, hand hovering over the shooter as she realized something. Otogi was trying to cut off her side of the board, locking down her ability to summon. She picked up her dice, mentally frowning as she realized these were high level again. She had tried to get a relatively even balance of low- and high-level dice, but her shooter was just firing out high level after high level.

She took a deep breath and was about to roll her dice when there was a loud, angry noise from the office, and suddenly the creepiest clown Yugi had ever seen was sweeping into the game room, damaged golden bracelet in hand.

She did not have a chance to move before his cane met the right side of her face hard enough to knock her off her chair sideways, sending her dice scattering across the room. Ryuji's chair scraped back as the boy shot to his feet as the hunchbacked old man raised his cane and shook the bracelet at her. "Where is she?! Where's the Ring!?"

Yugi pushed herself sitting, one hand on the right side of her face as she tasted blood and spat a tooth out, glaring at the man with the eye that did not hurt to open.

"Gone." She spoke proudly, uncaring about the blow she had taken when it was the result of freeing her friend. "She's gone, and she took the Ring with her. You won't hurt her again."

"Otosan?!" the younger Otogi demanded as he came around the table.

"You're an idiot, boy," the clown snapped out, showing him the bracelet. "You let her in there, didn't you?"

Ryuji stared at the dented bangle for a moment, then turned to Yugi, kind of impressed she had thought to jam the door and torn between happiness and worry that she had ensured her friend's escape. He had anticipated this when he had given Yugi an opening, and he was kind of pleased she had run with it. It was just a shame Bakura had left Yugi here alone.

He was not entirely surprised considering the girl's words yesterday, but it meant that the small Duelist had taken a huge risk for a girl that hated her, and he just knew she now was going to pay for it.

"Otosan…" he started.

"You've let me down, Ryuji, and I'll be dealing with that later." The old man sneered as he strode over to where the golden box and the top piece of the Puzzle were resting, snatched up the chain connected to the top of the Puzzle, and turned back to Yugi. "You… you've taken everything from me."

Before Yugi could react, the man had darted forwards, far faster than she could have anticipated, and wrapped the chain around her throat, using it to drag the girl to her feet. She tried to resist, only for the loop to pull tight, cutting her airways and forcing her to submit or choke.

"Otosan, please," Ryuji pleaded, stepping forward as the older man dragged the Puzzle Bearer towards this room's entrance to the hidden room and opened the door, trying to stop his father from doing something he would regret. "Let me finish this game."

"Why should I?" The wild expression on the creepy clown's face as he wheeled to face his son, pulling the chain taut again with his movements and making Yugi stagger. "Why should I trust you ever again?"

The younger Otogi did not have an answer. He had betrayed his father. He had helped release the one person who could have possibly gotten back Otosan's lost years.

But at the same time, this was not right. Bakura had been offering to help them freely, and Yugi had not been the one to play against Kintaro and steal those years. Her Ojiisan had. Yugi was innocent. At least of that crime. Ryuji could not blame the girl for freeing her friend when she had the chance.

"Because you know you can take the Puzzle from me easily, and the Challenge is already in motion," the teen tried, torn between trying to get that chain away from his father and staying dead still to avoid his Otosan's wrath. "The magic might react weirdly if you interfere."

His father paused to consider his son's words.

The Challenge for the Puzzle had started. If he interfered, he could get his son hurt or worse.

But his son had betrayed him. He had helped the Puzzle's true Bearer free the girl who had promised to help him get his lost years back. If he was hurt, it would be his own fault.

Yugi, who was reaching up to try and free her neck, let out a startled squeak which got cut off midway through, as the man turned back to the door and yanked on the chain, forcing his captive towards the door.

The Puzzle Bearer planted her feet, trying to resist the pull, refusing to get sealed into the hidden room like Amane had been, causing the chain to pull so tight it cut blood flow. Within seconds her feet gave way under her as light-headedness hit hard, making her lose the fight as she fell.

Kintaro took advantage of her descent, using his body weight to swing the chain, which tightened so much that pain shot through her throat, and released it at just the right moment to have the momentum cause his captive to go tumbling through the door and come to a gasping, coughing stop on the other side as the girl tried to heave in the breath the chain had previously denied.

"You are nothing to me," he hissed at his son as he scooped up the box containing the Puzzle pieces, as well as the one his son had stolen, putting that one in the box for safe keeping. "You are a traitor, and I disown you."

"Otosan…" Ryuji hesitated, having known secretly that this would probably be the consequences of his betrayal, but having not wanted to believe it. His eyes widened as he saw Bakura slip behind his father and dart to Yugi's side, helping the Puzzle Bearer sit up.

The pained squeak Yugi let out as she tried to whisper something to the Spirit of the Ring made Kintaro wheel around. He did not even hesitate, stalking into the room and shutting the door behind him, trapping the trio of them inside.

"You… don't want… to do this…" The Thief Queen grimaced as Yugi forced out the words and tried to warn the man in front of them. The crackling and hoarseness of the Runt's voice suggested her throat was damaged. She did not take the risk of taking her eyes off of the man to look, though.

"Get back, Runt. This one is mine," the Thief Queen hissed out, noting that the girl was unstable on her feet as she pulled the Puzzle Bearer behind her, and that the door out to the office was shut, too. "You know, Otogi, you've made a critical mistake."

"Really? I'm the one with the Puzzle pieces. I'm the one who knows how to get out of the room. I don't see how I've made a mistake here." The older Otogi snorted as he started lighting the candles on the table around the game she had been so keen to examine. "If you want to get out of here, you have to do what I say, so you and I are going to play a game."

"See, there's where you're wrong." Ba-Khu-Ra's voice echoed slightly, a slightly deeper, more masculine voice speaking underneath her usual tones. "We're not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with US."

With that the Shadows erupted out from the Thief Queen without caution, slamming the Runt against the wall behind her and the elderly Otogi against the one opposite, both impacting with loud, painful sounding cracks. Otogi dropped the Puzzle box as he collided with the wall, which went tumbling to the floor and scattered all the pieces inside.

Ba-Khu-Ra heard the Pharaoh's Brat hit the floor silently and not get up, but she did not care as she stalked forwards, fully planning on enjoying tearing the man limb from limb.

"You… you can't do this. You need me," the elderly man stammered, using the wall as a support as he struggled to his feet, right arm hanging limp, eyes wide and terrified.

"I need what's in your head. Not you." The demon thief chuckled viciously, the magic she had released swirling around her and her victim. "You and I are going to play a game, yes, but it will be of my choosing, and when you lose, and you WILL lose, you will give me the code before I rip your soul to pieces for the crime of harming me and mine."

"I'm not going to lose. I can't lose. And when I win, your Ring and her Puzzle will be mine, and you will return the years that have been stolen from me." Otogi Kintaro snapped back, terrified but trying to hide it.

"I appreciate the confidence, but prepare to die," she snarled out as she waved a hand. Power swept across the room, and Kintaro gulped as everything on the table seemed to disappear, only to be replaced by what looked like a marble game board with thirty spaces in three rows of ten, with two sets of pyramid shaped tokens, one in blue and one in black. Two dice, one of each color, fell onto the table opposite each player.

"The game is called Senet. I'm sure, considering your history, you've heard of it. First person to get all their tokens to the end wins," Ba-Khu-Ra informed her opponent as she picked up the blue die. "If your tokens land on mine, my token goes back to where yours started and vice versa, and the special tiles on the board will work automatically, so you don't have to worry about not knowing the rules."

Kintaro trembled as he approached the table and picked up the black die, realizing he had lost control of the situation. "If you could do this, why didn't you do it when I first trapped you?"

"Because I made the mistake of thinking you were a rational person," the demon thief snorted, her voice still echoing, "and that you could be reasoned with. I know better now."

The elderly Otogi glanced around the room, trying to think of a way out, but the doors had vanished into the Shadows, along with everything except the table, the game, Bakura, and himself. Even the unconscious Puzzle Bearer had vanished.

"Oh, and for the record, try to cheat, leave the table, or injure me," she warned, her voice sharp, "and you lose, automatically."

He grimaced, having been considering just punching his opponent.

"Now, let the game begin."


	13. Eclipse

Katsuya stared at his phone, rereading the text message he had just received from his best friend.

“Please make sure you pick up the club room keys from my desk, just in case. You might need to open up for the Senshi tomorrow.”

Something was very wrong. The way it was worded sounded like Yugi was not sure if she would be in school tomorrow and the way she had fled from him, darting between the other students like there were oni on her heels, suggested that whatever it was, she did not want him involved.

He had made Yugi a promise that he would let her and Meisa handle things, as long as she agreed to not throw herself to the wolves if she did not think that she could get away safely. By saying ‘might’ Yugi clearly thought she might get away and was not breaking her word.

But by leaving her keys it was clear she was not certain of it and right now, with the Puzzle in pieces, she did not have Meisa to back her up if things went wrong.

He fired off a reply, asking Yugi to tell him where she was but got no answer. That fact alone caused him to huff and head back to the classroom, hoping that the others were still there. By the time he had gotten there, Anzu had gone, which was frustrating but not entirely unexpected since she had a dance class today, but Honda was still there, as was, surprisingly, Kaiba, who was doing something on his phone when the Duelist entered the room.

Katsuya strode across the room to Yugi’s desk and opened the drawer, letting out a soft hiss as he spotted the keys for club room seven, the one belonging to the Domino Senshi. He had expected them to be there, but considering how caught up in the club his friend was, the fact she had left them behind for him was seriously worrying.

The sounds of footsteps striding across the room made his head snap up. The sight of Kaiba heading through the door gave him an idea, “Rich Boy.”

“What, Mutt?” The CEO demanded, wheeling around to stare at him coldly.

“I think Otogi’s made his play.” The blonde huffed, tossing his phone across the room to the brunette whose eyes narrowed as he caught and read the text messages.

Seto internally scowled at the implications of the texts. He was not stupid enough to miss what Yugi had been inferring. He was, however, irritated at himself for both not following through when he had thought there was something wrong at lunch time and letting Yugi distract him.

“I need to return to Kaiba Corp.” He grumbled, needing to check whether the Otogis had moved on the threats that would involve his company before it made his life inconvenient. “I’m assuming you can handle this?”

He was about to throw the phone back to the teen opposite him, only spotted Honda, who had been by the door when he had swept past, holding his hand out for the phone.

“Yeah. We got this.” Katsuya snorted as the CEO dropped the device into his right hand’s palm. “As long as Yuge’s gone to the Black Clown. If they’ve gone anywhere else though…”

“That’s the only building in Domino that the Otogis own. If the Otogis are the problem, she’ll be there.” Kaiba informed them, having checked it on his phone when the teachers had not been looking and turning towards the door again as Honda’s expression darkened.

The thought occurred to him that he needed to get a tracker on Yugi in case she wandered off like this again. After all, he could not ensure her safety long enough to take his Championship from her if he did not know where she was.

“Kaiba?” He paused at the call of his name, having not expected it’s use from the speaker, and glanced over his shoulder, back towards the blonde. “Thanks.”

He did not dignify it with a response, only strode from the room. Honda ignored his leaving and turned to Jou.

“So we’re going to back her up, right?”

“You even have to ask?” The dragon duelist demanded, “Let’s go.”

* * *

The sounds of dice rolling across a table and Ba-Khu-Ra’s voice, which faded in and out, declaring that her piece was sending someone’s back to square twenty one, were the soundtrack of Yugi’s painful return to consciousness.

As she opened her uninjured eye, the world around her swam, forcing her to take a moment to try and pull herself together before she lurched to her feet. Luckily both Challenger and Caster were thoroughly distracted by the Shadow Game as she staggered to her feet and stumbled across the room, past both the physical items on the table and the spectral, illusory forms of the Senet set that Ba-Khu-Ra and Otogi Kintaro were playing, allowing her safe passage.

The room spun as she moved and she did not register the liquid that was trickling down the back of her neck, too focused on getting her hands on the Puzzle pieces before the haze that was swamping her mind, the pain from her pulsing head and the struggle to draw breath past the injuries to her throat overwhelmed her, allowing someone to take the Puzzle from her again.

She fell to her knees next to the fallen box and started picking up the pieces, putting them carefully in their rightful container, _‘I’m going… to get you back… Anesan.’_

Her trapped other self could not respond, but Yugi did not care as she picked up the last fragment of her most precious treasure and tried to get to her feet so she could retreat safely behind Ba-Khu-Ra. However, the movement caused her to go severely light-headed. She swayed as the world momentarily blacked out, and sat back down heavily, realising she was not going to be getting to her feet of her own accord.

Worried, since she was now on Otogi Senior’s side of the room and the man had already proved to be violent and surprisingly fast, she started assembling the trinket that would get her Anesan home safely, hoping to finish it before the man’s inevitable cheating came into play, in case she and Bakura needed backup.

Even under the best conditions, working on the Puzzle was hard. With her mind so hazy and her right eye swollen shut from the elder Otogi’s strike with his cane, she was having problems connecting the pieces correctly. More than once the gold clinked to the floor, as a piece or two fell out and she glanced at the pair, just waiting for Ryuji’s Otousan to realise what she was doing and lash out.

Thankfully, the Shadows surrounding the players hid her from view and muffled the sounds of the outside world. Completely furious at the way the bearer of her item had been treated, Ba-Khu-Ra had called down the full force of the Shadows, partly separating the two players from the real world as she planned out exactly how she was going to destroy this fool’s soul.

She watched as he rolled his dice, still waiting for him to decide that playing was not worth the time and effort and try attacking her instead. She hurt all over, was starving and the body was exhausted, having not slept much at all last night thanks to the obnoxious lighting in the room, which was not the best condition to be Challenging someone in. Plus with how fast he had proved to be when he had snatched the Millennium Ring from her, she was wary that the rules she had laid down would not react fast enough to stop him from attacking her.

Not that she had ever considered that before Keith Howard had managed to shoot her. Her left hand went to her right shoulder, which still occasionally ached even though she had healed up the bullet wound once she had been safely home from Duelist Kingdom.

Once she was home and knew she did not need to throw more magic around, she would heal up the body, but while Otogi considered the board, then moved his piece forward four spaces before rolling again, having gained a second roll, she had to put up with the aching bruises, grumbling stomach and slight dizziness.

As he silently, sulkily rolled a two, moved one of his black pyramids forward and gestured for her to go, she looked forward to the energy this prick’s soul would provide. It would be completely satisfying to use the power boost she would gain from stealing yet another soul, to ruin his son for aiding and abetting him.

She just needed to get through this game first.

* * *

It had been a while since Jonouchi and Honda had broken into anywhere, nearly two years in fact, however as they worked on getting the back fire exit open so they could slip inside, they agreed that this was a good use of their old skills.

They would have gone through the front doors, but they had been locked and the store closed, which was weird for a store of the size of the Black Clown at this time of day. It was not until they got the door open and slipped into the warehouse that they realised why.

Shadows coated the floor and the moment they stepped into them they felt a sense of foreboding that had them wanting to flee. The same carpet of darkness was in the corridors and, as Honda checked, the shop floor, where he found the lifeless bodies of two thuggish looking security guards.

“Ba-Khu-Ra?” Katsuya asked his friend, only ruling out Meisa because the Puzzle was in pieces, since he was fully aware that the Spirit of the Puzzle could get murderous if Yugi’s life was in danger and she had no other options. The Burger World fire had proved that.

“Probably.” Honda grimaced, “If the Otogis were the ones holding her, she probably plans on bringing the building down.”

“I’m kind of surprised she thought to empty the place first,” The duelist huffed as he headed back into the staff areas, “She doesn’t normally care about collateral damage.”

His right hand followed with a grimace, disagreeing with his friend, but not wanting to start an argument right now. The Thief Queen was a lot more cautious about who she hurt than Jonouchi was giving her credit for. If you were in her way, then yes, you were fair game, but if she could remove a problem and make her task easier?

She would take that option every time.

Finding the stairs upwards was easy and the sounds of Otogi Ryuji quietly cussing up a storm led them to a game room where a projector table was showing off a half finished game and the teenager in question was trying to get a barely visible door in the wall open.

“Otogi!”

Katsuya barely got his snarl out before the other boy wheeled around, relief and regret obvious on his features, and blurted out, “My Otousan’s lost the plot. He’s got Bakura and Yugi in there and locked the door from the inside. I can’t get it unlocked.”

Jonouchi looked at Honda. He did not need to say anything. After all the years they had been kicking rears and had each other’s backs, Honda knew exactly what he was thinking without words. The brunette nodded, looking determined.

“Otogi,” Katsuya glowered at the teen in question as he and his friend pulled back, preparing to launch themselves at the door to break it down, “Move!”

* * *

“She betrayed you…” The Shadows whispered as they ripped away not only parts of her soul, but the memories of her freedom, one by one, taking away everything she cared about. “She smashed the Puzzle...you belong to us again!”

It was a lie. She knew it was a lie. The Puzzle smashing had not been the light’s fault. She knew that her light would never, ever send her back into this hell deliberately. It was not her fault.

The light had tried to free her, had promised that she would see her again. That one thought kept her going and gave her something to hold on to as other memories were ripped away.

Names, faces, her own actions… gone, one by one… but she still fought, desperate to hold onto her memories of her light, even as the memories of her friends were stripped away from her.

No matter how long it took, the light would free her again. The spirit had every faith that she would and she just knew that the light would feel guilt beyond measure if her protector returned to her with no memories and no sanity, just as she had been when she had been first released.

She had to resist. She had to be strong. No matter how long it took to free her from the darkness, be it eight seconds, eight days, or eight years, she had to hold onto that which the Shadows were so desperate to rip from her. No matter how much it hurt. No matter how much easier it would have been to just let the Shadows tear her apart.

Suddenly the world around her was bright and she had to close her eyes against the light as she felt the Shadows retreating, the whispering, hissing voices that had lied about betrayal screaming in rage as the Shadows’s prisoner felt power assembling. Power she knew better than any other.

The Puzzle was being put back together. There was no way she could not recognize the effects that had on her dark and icy prison after the many, many attempts the light had made over the eight years. The spirit tried not to hope though, not with how many times she had thought that freedom was just around the corner, only to have it snatched away at the last moment.

Each piece that slotted into place pushed the darkness back further and caused the icy cold to thaw. Each ‘click’ that rang in her head, let her connect better with her precious sister’s light, reassuring her that the girl was there and waiting for her as secondhand memories reminded her of what the Shadows had stolen away and informed her of what had been happening while she had been gone.

As she reconnected, she could feel how injured and dizzy her twin was and silently swore that if she got the chance, she was going to tear Otogi apart and if she did not get the chance, she was going to thank Ba-Khu-Ra for dealing with him for her.

She just needed Imoto to finish the Puzzle and put it on…

As the last piece of the Puzzle slipped into place, releasing her from her dark bonds, she darted for the door and slipped straight into control of the body.

She momentarily regretted her haste as disorientation hit hard and pain slammed into her like a truck, but it was worth it as spectral hands rested on her shoulders, supporting her, as a voice echoed through her mind, _‘I’m glad you’re back, Anesan.’_

Meisa was about to reply, just as glad to be free again as her sister was to have her back, when a loud snarl from the game going on behind her caught her attention, causing her to glance back over her shoulder.

“You have to be cheating! There’s no way your rolls are this good!” Otogi Kintaro growled out as Ba-Khu-Ra made her move and was left with just one piece on the board.

“It’s not my fault that your luck has abandoned you, Otogi.” The cold, cruel sneer of a reply warned the Spirit of the Puzzle that the Thief Queen was deeply entrenched in her magic right now and would not be safe to approach, especially as hurt as she was. She reached for where their deck normally hung, wanting to heal the body before the Shadow Game was over, praying she would be able to focus enough to make the spell work properly.

“You rigged it! You rigged the dice! Probably with the help of my traitorous spawn!” She was too late. The elder Otogi let out a furious noise and shoved the table aside to get to Bakura, sending the physical objects on it tumbling to the floor.

The Pharaoh’s eyes widened as she realised those physical objects included several lit candles.

The carpet caught alight and the adrenaline produced from the combined shock and fright of the Mutou twins allowed Meisa to push past her injuries and scramble to her feet. She hesitated for just a moment unsure how thick the illusions were and if Bakura could even see the flames right now, before trying to pull Ba-Khu-Ra away from the fallen table and the fire.

It was a mistake. Bakura instinctively lashed out at her touch, blasting her former friend with so much Shadow magic at such a close range that she went tumbling across the room, coming to a stop when she collided with the wall and stopped in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Ba-Khu-Ra was furious as the Shadows claimed the soul of the screaming bastard who had dared to imprison her and her Landlord and try and take their item for his own and she started to wheel around to snarl at the Pharaoh’s Brat for trying to interfere, pausing to listen as the dark magic dragged the secret of the lock system out of him before they devoured every last drop of his soul, only to realise as illusions faded enough to let her see the real world again that the place was on fire.

“Runt, why didn’t you…” She trailed off as she realised that the one who had grabbed her was not the brat, but the Pharaoh herself, who was shakily pushing herself sitting, Shadows swirling around her as the remnants of the blast drained more of her strength before fading away.

Leaving the Pharaoh to pick herself or faint, whichever came first, the Thief Queen moved over to where the hidden keypad that Otogi Kintaro had screeched about before his soulless body had hit the now burning floor, was hidden. Opening the panel, however, revealed that the lights on it were off. She pressed a few buttons and got no noise or light in response. Checking the second door revealed the same problem. It too was offline.

Frustration coursed through her as the thought that they could have shut down because of the heat, or because of a safety measure to stop fire from spreading, though she somehow doubted the latter given the older Otogi’s lack of concern for others.

Trying to ignore the steadily increasing pain in her chest as the dry, hot, ashy air entered her lungs, she ran her hand down the sides of the door, hoping to find a crack that she could use to wedge open the door, but it was sealed tightly. She coughed and grimaced, running through ideas and pulling memories from her host to see what her Landlord had tried to get the door open last night.

A hacking cough from behind her made her glance back at the Pharaoh. Meisa had managed to push herself to her feet and was leaning on the wall, unsteady on her feet and her breath coming in painful wheezes that suggested that her lungs were objecting as much as Bakura’s were.

Fury flooded through the Thief Queen.

If the Pharaoh had not been stupid enough to let her light get chucked down the stairs, then the Puzzle would not have fallen apart and Ryuji would not have gotten a chance to steal a piece. If she had not had to hunt the stolen piece, Ba-Khu-Ra’s own host would not have been hurt and they would not be trapped in this damn fire.

If their hosts died here, everything she had been through would be for nothing because the seal would break and while her people would be free, so would everything else that had been sealed away in the Shadows over the Millennia. Her chance to get the Pharaoh’s name would be lost with the brat’s soul and there was a chance she would never get the chance to get the souls of Kul Elna into the afterlife.

There was even a chance that the Items would not survive the flames and if the Ring and the Puzzle melted away, she had no idea what that would do to the sealed parts of their souls…

 _‘I can save us, but I need her item.’_ The demon hissed, its own nervousness making her realise that it too was worried that the parts of it that were sealed within the Puzzle and Ring could be destroyed. _‘After all, I still have to make good on my half of our deal…’_

All the agony, shock and despair of the day she had been betrayed came flooding back with the memories of nearly bleeding to death on the desert sands and only being saved by a deal with the darkness that had been stalking her since.

**_“I’ll save you and help you kill the Pharaoh who betrayed you and whose line has taken so much from us…”_ **

Overwhelmed by the emotional flood that was dragging her down, she did not resist as the demon guided the actions of the body and she stalked towards the badly injured Queen.

**_“If you give me your soul and help me regain the power I have lost…”_ **

Amane, realising that her other self was no longer in control of her actions, tried desperately to seize her vessel back, not wanting to lose a friend, but was unable to stop the creature possessing her form from slamming the physically tiny and badly concussed Pharaoh against the wall by the throat.

“Baku…” Meisa’s eyes widened and she trailed off as the hands around her throat tightened, sending pain shooting through her already injured neck as the digits pressed against the bruises that had already formed and partly cutting off what little air she could get.

Not that the hands were what she was paying attention to.

“I’ve waited three thousand years for this.” The amber colour of her attacker’s eyes and the dark hiss of a masculine voice warned the Pharaoh that she was no longer dealing with the Thief Queen.

“Who are…you?” The Spirit of the Puzzle forced out as she tried to wrestle the hands away from her throat despite the physical strength difference between her and her former friend.

“I’d be disappointed that you don’t remember me,” The creature hissed as it unleashed its full, shadowy aura, which swept outwards and took a dragonic shape behind it, wings flared, the flames in the room not able to break through the darkness of its shadow. The sheer force of its magic set the Pharaoh trembling as she realised that the thing in front of her was not just another Shadow spirit within the Ring, but the very thing she had ripped her soul in two to stop.

“But you had to forget me in order to seal me back in Egypt,” It gloated as it proved its physical strength and the fruitlessness of her attempts to break free, by tightening its grip further, pressing relentlessly against the bruising that had already formed and almost cutting the air flow entirely. "So I’ll reintroduce myself.”

She felt her twin’s support and anger push back at her own fear, helping her regain enough presence of mind to glower at the thing possessing her former friend, both refusing to back down and using her defiance as a distraction so she could reach for her deck.

“My name, Pharaoh, is Zorc. I’m the one you gave everything to seal back in Egypt and I’ve been hunting your brat for Millennia.” He hissed in her face, too busy gloating to realise she was opening her deck holster, “Each time she’s come back, I’ve gone looking, hoping to kill her and break your precious seal once and for all. And every time I’ve missed her because of your allies. I’ve even had to deal with my own servant trying to keep you alive because she still needs your name!”

“But it’s all over now.” Malicious amusement dripped off his voice, “The seal has weakened every time your brat has died. One more death and it shatters. And I’m happy to help it along. After all, I don’t need your name, I just need to break the seal to rule this world and this time, this oh so important time, your life is in my hands. There will be no more hunting. No more playing your stupid game. Your world burns with you!”

Able to sense the dark energy and protective aura of the Dark Magician at her fingertips, she drew the card from her deck. Almost as if her allies knew she needed an opening, something slammed against the metal door her twin had been tossed through, distracting the demon and giving her a chance to put what little energy she had remaining, into calling forth her ally.

As the door buckled, admitting Katsuya and Honda, the Dark Magician smacked the creature in the face with his staff, knocking it backwards, causing it to nearly tumble backwards into the flames. It released its captive, who collapsed to the ground, coughing badly as she tried to force the air she had been denied, into her lungs.

“Yuge!” Katsuya darted forward as the Dark Magician scooped the Pharaoh into his arms, and darted around the flames, not turning his back on the Thief Queen for a second.

“Give her back to me!” The demon hissed out, staggering to its feet as the fire spread through the open door, “This ends here!”

“No it doesn’t!” The demon froze as its host, the one it could not control, threw all of her strength and all the power she could draw from the Ring at the thing controlling her vessel, her voice emerging from the body. “I am not going to let you kill my sodding friend!”

The Ring exploded in light, momentarily flash blinding the occupants of the room and when it cleared Amane was in control of her body again. She wavered on her feet and started to fall, but Honda was there before she could hit the floor. He caught her and scooped her up into his arms in a bridal carry as Mahad reached Katsuya and passed him his load, giving him a respectful and trusting stare. “Look after her, Djau.”

“What?!” Katsuya demanded, the name familiar in a weird way, but did not get an answer before the Duel Monster faded away. At his leaving he felt a hand clutch his shirt and he looked down to find Meisa had grasped his shirt. Her head rested against his chest, leaving a weird wetness behind that made him flinch slightly and her eyes were barely open as she fought the combination of drowsiness from the concussion, the oxygen deprivation and the smoke inhalation. All of which were trying to render her unconscious.

Ryuji darted past the quartet to find his father as Honda and Katsuya glanced in the direction the other guy had gone. Then they grimaced at each other and shook their heads, deciding in the same moment that their friends were more important than the Otogis. They could not get both girls out and help Ryuji with his father, it just was not possible. If there was time, they could come back, but Yugi and Amane had to come first.

They turned and left, coughing already themselves and both concerned about how much smoke the pair of Item Holders had inhaled. The flames were spreading with supernatural speed as they fled the building and Jonouchi silently wished he had magic of his own so he could do something to get them out faster.

A quiet wheeze from Honda’s passenger made the former thug look down. The Ring Bearer’s eyes were nearly closed, her breathing was labored and she coughed painfully as her lungs started to give in.

“We’ve got you both.” The brunette promised, not pausing in his escape as he spoke, “I promise, we’ll get you out.”

“Otogi… the old one… he’s behind this all… he’s been forcing Ryuji’s hand… Ryuji… didn’t want to hurt us…”

“Worry about that later.” Honda glanced down at the Ring Bearer, “Just rest, okay?”

Amane nodded and leaned her head against his chest, closing her eyes as she did so, too depleted and sore to insist on walking and understanding that right now she would only slow them down. She was just relieved to be no longer alone and safely in the arms of a friend who gave a damn about her.

The moment they got outside, taking the shortest route by going through the now broken open front doors, they were confronted by the flashing lights of police cars, ambulances and fire engines and the feel of water against their skin from the fire hoses aimed at the building, before they were dragged over to the ambulances.

Katsuya had never been so grateful for Kaiba interfering in their lives as he was when his best friend, who had passed out on the way out and who could barely breathe for the finger shaped purple-blue bruising that was layered over chain formed black and blue welts around her throat, was snatched from him by the medics the CEO had called and bundled into the back of an ambulance.

One of the ambulance men paused to look at the blonde, “You hurt?”

“What? No…” Katsuya looked down and blanched as he saw the red staining on his t-shirt where his friend’s head had rested. “It… It’s not mine, it’s hers… Yugi’s.”

At his words the man asking nodded and sped for the ambulance holding Yugi, while another pair took Amane from Honda’s arm. Once she was also safely in the care of the doctors, Honda put a hand on his shaky friend and nodded towards the shop, asking if he still wanted to go.

Katsuya took one look back at the ambulances, praying that one of the most important people in his life was going to be okay, and then turned back to his oldest friend and nodded. They darted past the officials trying to stop people getting too close, covering their mouths with their shirts in order protect themselves from the smoke and dove back into the fire.

Rushing for the stairs, Honda and Katsuya were halfway up when they heard the sounds of the building beginning to collapse and Katsuya hesitated for a moment before continuing, knowing they did not have much time left.

They did not have to go far before they found Ryuji, trying and failing to fireman carry his badly burned, unconscious father out of the building. Without a word Honda helped shift the elderly man onto Jonouchi’s shoulders, understanding that the blonde was the strongest of the three of them without even having to ask. As they worked their way back down, the building groaned and creaked, the sounds of things falling suggesting that they had minutes at best, seconds at worst.

Ryuji hesitated as they reached the corridor into the main shop, staring down the hallway to the warehouse, where what little stock of Dungeon Dice Monsters his father had allowed him to store in the building was burning up.

“Come on.” Honda shoved the teen harshly as something crashed loudly ahead of them. They emerged onto the shop floor to find the roof at the front of the store was drooping and was about to give way. The three boys ran, Jonouchi slowed by the weight he was carrying. Honda and Ryuji got ahead and managed to get through the door before the roof collapsed, trapping Jonouchi and his load between barricades of flaming beams and slowly melting metal.

The duelist stared at it, shock and fear crashing through him as he realized he was stuck. Stuck inside the burning building.

“Shit… shit…” He gasped out before coughing violently, staggering for a moment as he nearly lost his footing due to light-headedness from the smoke and grabbed on to the nearest shelving unit, burning his hand but keeping himself upright.

He refused to fall. Not here. Not now. Not like this.

The Shadows that had been clinging to him since the very first time he had stepped into a Shadow Game and been steadily building ever since, swirled around him, reacting to his anger and his sheer refusal to die now.

Darkness and fire erupted out and started taking shape in front of him, forming into a dragon whose black scales glinted in the firelight, red eyes burning with an internal fire as it built up flames in its mouth.

Jonouchi had the disconcerting sensation of seeing through both his eyes and his dragon’s and feeling the fire build up in his own throat, before the creature spat the fireball forwards. It exploded on impact with the barricade, making him an opening to escape the building and Katsuya took it, darting past the dragon to get the hell out.

He had just made it past the door when the rest of the ground floor ceiling gave way, crushing his summoned beast, which shattered into shards of dark red light.

Jonouchi went crashing to the floor as the backlash from its destruction hit him like a truck. Pain and exhaustion ripped through him, draining every last ounce of his strength. Thankfully, a pair of firemen pulled him away from the door, while others took the elderly Otogi.

Comforted by the thought that everyone was out of the fire, Katsuya let the darkness take him.

Distracted by his collapse and trying to bundle him and his load to the nearby ambulances, the medics did not see Amane shakily escape from the back of her ambulances until it was too late to track the girl.

* * *

Mutou Sugoroku had received many frightening phone calls in his time, but hearing from a defeated sounding Honda that Yugi and Katsuya were being rushed to hospital had been the most terrifying thing he had ever heard.

He had rushed there, only to have his path blocked by Otogi Ryuji.

Barely holding back from forcing the young man to get out of the way, he had listened long enough for the boy to plead with him to let him tell the ‘full’ story before he rushed inside, probably hoping to appeal to the older man’s better nature.

Unfortunately, the events as Ryuji told him them, keeping his own actions as in the background as possible, only served to make the Mutou patriarch more furious.

If he lost any of his family because of the Otogi Clan leader, he was going to see the man rotted in jail, if Bakura had not ripped his soul out and fed it to the Shadows.

“That absolute bastard.” Mutou Sugoroku snarled out as he paced the hospital car park, having just heard the truth of what had happened from Ryuji, who had been bowing apologetically the whole time. “I get it, he hated me. I’ve never thought that I didn’t deserve his hate even though he was the one who started it! But to drag my Magomasume into this! To kidnap her friends and endanger her life! I can’t forgive that!”

The younger Otogi could not blame the old Game Master for his fury.

His father’s revenge had destroyed everything, just like the fire that had consumed the Black Clown.

Otogi Kintaro’s drive for revenge had destroyed his bond with his son, the family name, their financial future, his physical wellbeing and, as Ryuji straightened and watched the police approach, having been taking witness statements from the paramedics who had been on scene, he realized that it was going to impact his father’s liberty too.

And possibly his own…

The former archeologist took a deep breath, knowing that entering the hospital in his current state would not be a good thing.

“I apologize.” Sugoroku sighed as the officers passed him and Ryuji and entered the hospital to find out what state both victim and prime suspect were in, “I shouldn’t have snapped but…”

“No, I understand.” Ryuji really did. He had wanted to hit his Otosan so many times over the years that he could not blame the older Mutou for getting furious. Especially considering… “I’m sorry.”

The former archeologist paused to consider the teen. “I am angry at you; I won’t deny that. However, people do insane things for their family. From what I’ve been told, you didn’t want Yugi involved and tried to stand up to your Otosan for her, so I’m going to give you a chance, but I’m warning you…”

The sudden steel in the old man’s voice made Ryuji pause and watch him carefully.

“Do anything to harm my family again and you’ll regret it.” The old Game Master did not look like he was joking and the ice in his voice made the game designer shiver.

Suddenly he understood why his father had gone searching this man out to become his apprentice. This was not the jovial elderly shop owner who would be friendly with everyone. It was the Game Master who was laser focused on what he wanted and would do anything to protect his family.

“Yes Mutou-Sensei.” He bowed, a full, respectful one.

The old gamer let out a sharp huff and then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he entered the building. Once he was a little more level headed, he turned back to the teen before him.

“Do you have anywhere to go now?” The game shop owner looked worried as he straightened, his tone still a little sharp but certainly softer than it had been seconds ago.

Ryuji paused. He had a decent amount in his bank account for now, but the shop was gone, his remaining Dungeon Dice Monsters stock now had nowhere to be sold from and production costs had come out of what little he had been given from his father’s accounts, so he could not afford to stay anywhere long. He supposed that he could try to find his Okaasan to stay with, but he was not sure how to even start, which left…

“I can get in contact with my Ojiisan, but it’s going to take a few days.” Ryuji sighed and shrugged.

“If you need somewhere to stay in the meantime,” Sugoroku offered, shocking the boy. “I have space in my home, if you don’t mind a camp bed.”

Otogi stared at him, confused.

“I’m serious about this.” The old gamer promised, “It’s better for you to have somewhere quiet you can go, then have the chance of the press catching you at some hotel wanting to know what happened with the store and quite frankly I don’t want my family harassed when you bring their names up.”

Ryuji smiled shakily, understanding that this was for Jonouchi and Yugi’s sakes, not his. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Doctor Mutou put on a fake smile that he really did not feel that slipped as he entered the building.

He hated hospitals. The atmosphere was oppressive and far too many of his friends and family had entered one, only to never come out. Knowing that his granddaughter had been rushed into surgery to get her damaged throat operated on made him incredibly nervous and it was only made worse with the knowledge that his ward had collapsed and been brought here too.

Not that he could let Yugi’s friends see it. The children had been on the receiving end of an awful day. They needed him to be the responsible adult they could look to and who could be reassuring.

He stepped into the waiting area, where, despite the soot clinging to Honda and the fact Anzu was missing dance class, the other half of the close-knit group waited. He could not help but be proud of them. Yugi had been claiming since Duelist Kingdom that her friends were like family to her and this just proved that she was right.

They were here, where they needed to be, when she needed them. He was honestly glad to have them here. They were as much Yugi’s kin as he was.

Anzu was wearing the Puzzle but she took it off and handed it to him immediately, not because she did not want to protect it, but because she honestly felt like the older man would be of better comfort for the spirit within, than she would.

Sugoroku’s hand brushed over the Puzzle as he wished his other granddaughter could be there with them, because she probably needed the comfort as much as the rest of them.

 _‘It’ll be okay, Meisa.’_ He thought towards her, not expecting the words to go through but needing to try and be there for the spirit, who had just been through hell. _‘Just hang in there a little longer. You’ll see Yugi soon, I promise.’_


	14. Diagnosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicidal Thoughts

Anzu was furious at herself as she sat in the bleak walled waiting room, wringing her hands.

She had known something was wrong when she had found Yugi washing her face in the bathroom, and still she had let her friend get away with an obvious lie.

She should have pushed for answers as to why Kobayashi had thought Yugi was in a fight and why Yugi's eyes had been puffy, like she had been crying.

In the moment she had just assumed that bullies had been harassing her friend again, but now she wanted to kick herself. Yugi did not cry when bullies picked on her. Anzu had never seen her cry in the aftermath of a bullying incident.

For Yugi to have been crying, something else, something major, had to have happened.

And Anzu had just shrugged it off.

If she had pushed, she could have found out what was wrong and why Yugi had felt like she needed to go after Otogi by herself. She could have helped her friend make a saner plan than rushing off alone. She could have warned the boys that Otogi had threatened Yugi, so they could have been there for the Puzzle Bearer…

She had not even thought to worry when Yugi had darted out of the classroom at the end of the day. She had been so focused on her upcoming dance lesson that she had not given it a thought beyond wondering if Ojiisan had asked Yugi to be home quickly since it was not a Duel Club day.

Her trembling hand went to the keys in her pocket, the ones the doctors had found in Katsuya's pockets when he had been brought in for smoke inhalation. The ones that really belonged to the girl who was in surgery right now.

Her friends had been in danger and she had not known until she had gotten the call from Honda after it was all over.

If she had just been pushier, if she had talked Yugi around and found out what was going on, then the fire could have been avoided, the thing possessing Bakura would not have gotten a chance to attack.

And maybe, just maybe, two of her friends would not be in the hospital.

But that was it, was it not?

The running joke of her friendship with Yugi.

She had never been there.

She knew how Yugi reacted after being bullied, because while Anzu had put her foot down when she had seen people picking on the other girl, she had never really been someone that Yugi could rely on. She had been so busy seeking popularity and being the class president that she had left behind the one girl who had needed her the most.

She flinched, remembering the day she had dropped Yugi's brand new Gameboy on the floor, breaking her friend's handheld console within days of the smaller teen getting it. She had apologised, yes, but she had not offered to replace it or the game within. Nor had she bothered to see past her own guilt to understand the hurt but unsurprised expression on her friend's face. Looking back now, she could easily see why.

Yugi had never been able to befriend anyone before her. Everyone she had tried to make friends with had hung out with the tiny teen in order to get a discount at the shop or as a joke. Occasionally they had even broken the games that the girl had brought to school with her because they thought it was funny.

When she had offered to be friends with Yugi, the smile it had earned her lit up the room. The apology she had offered had eased some of the guilt she had been feeling and made Yugi willing to still call her a friend.

But she still had not been there. She had not tried to stop the bullying. She had not stepped in when their classmates had been talking about her behind her back. She had stood up to Jonouchi and Honda whenever she had caught them picking on Yugi, but she had not done anything to ensure her friend's safety…

Just like today.

She glanced up as Doctor Mutou got to his feet and started pacing. The normally calm and jolly Game Store Owner was, understandably, a bundle of emotions and not entirely thinking straight. She and Honda had answered most of the questions that the police had been asking, simply because no one had told him anything about the threats the Otogis had been making.

It was not hard to see how much that had hurt him. In hindsight they should have told him. It would have given him a chance to intervene before it had gotten this far. Plus, it would have shown they were worthy of his trust.

She was proud of herself for managing to divert their attention away from Amane at least. As worried as she was about the Ring Bearer, with the Spirit of the Ring turning homicidal, she did not want the police to end up in over their heads.

She was not foolish enough to think this was all over, though. There had been a major fire that had burned one building to the ground and, judging by the news reports that were playing on the television in the waiting room, the stores next to it were still in danger of decimation.

Not only that, but one man was so badly burned that Ryuji had been told to brace for the worst, another girl had been injured badly, a boy had collapsed from smoke inhalation, and a girl had escaped from the scene, despite being wounded and having trouble breathing herself.

While Ryuji had confirmed that it was his father who had hurt Yugi and started the fire, this just put the blame on the one person who probably was not going to wake up to face the consequences; there were going to be more questions before too long, Anzu could just see it.

She was going to be there to protect her friends from the fallout. She had to be. If she was going to make it up to everyone for not being there when they had needed her, she had to make it up to them now by covering for them.

She would start by talking the events over with her mother, as much as she could without Yugi's permission anyway, and get her to help her work out the best way to protect her friends from the consequences of this whole mess. If anyone would know how to organise their defence, she would.

As her mother entered the room, Anzu just wished that she had acted sooner and the defence was not necessary.

"Okaasan!"

Sugoroku paused in his pacing to get a good view of Anzu shooting across to hug the woman who had just come in the door. This taller woman wrapped her arms around her daughter, trying to support her; she had a sharper expression but her eyes were the same blue color as Anzu's and her hair the same mousey brown, just long enough to be tied back into a ponytail. Her eyes swept the room, and she gave the elderly shop owner a small nod before quietly reminding Anzu that she needed to speak to Doctor Mutou.

She did not completely let go of her upset daughter as she made her way across the room and Sugoroku got to his feet, trying to ignore the crick in his back as he bowed to her. "Mazaki-san, I apologize for the inconvenience. I'm Mutou Sugoroku."

"Mazaki Yui." The woman bowed back. "And don't be ridiculous, you can't help something like this happening. Have you heard about Mutou-chan and Jonouchi-kun yet?"

"Not yet." He sighed, shaking his head. "They won't tell me about Katsuya because I only have Kangoken for him, not Shinken, and apparently Yugi is still in surgery."

The woman paused to think, her fingers running over her silver bengoshi kisho, her attorney's badge, as she worked through the facts in her head, noting that if what the old man was telling her was true, he had physical custody of the boy. "I assume you don't have the paperwork on you?"

"It's still with my lawyer." He grimaced.

"Give me five minutes." The smile the elder Mazaki got was shark-like as she patted her daughter on the shoulder. "Anzu, honey, I'll be back in a moment."

Anzu let go and watched her mother stalk out of the room with an amused huff.

"Your Okaasan is terrifying." Honda snorted, unable to help but be slightly impressed yet frightened of the woman who seemed to be under the impression she could change the mind of the hospital.

"She has to be, she's a corporate attorney for Kaiba Corp," she explained, taking a seat. "It's where she met Otosan. They happened to survive the reshuffle when Kaiba Corp went from warfare to gaming."

Honda's eyes widened, suddenly understanding why Anzu's parents had been so against her taking up dance as a profession for so long. To a pair of corporate attorneys, dancing probably seemed like a massive downgrade from the things they felt Anzu could achieve. It also explained how she had gotten the job at Death-T so easily. "Wait, if they work for Kaiba Corp…"

"Why do I go to Domino High?" Anzu cut him off with a huff. "Because it was the only school in town with space when they moved here."

That made a lot of sense, and Honda edged over to the doorway so he could eavesdrop on the conversation that was being held at the desk between Anzu's mother and the receptionist. He could not hear everything, but from what he could make out, the attorney had come at Kaiba Corp's behest in order to ensure that two Kaiba Corp assets were being given the best treatment, and to set up payment for them using Kaiba Corp's health insurance. Using that set up, she was able to get information on Jonouchi's condition, but Honda did not get a chance to hear what it was as his father swept into the room, looking furious.

"Honda Hiroto, I should not have to find out from the news that you've been taken to hospital," the black haired, broadly built man who shared Honda's brown eyes snapped at his son, furious. "I assume you have a good reason for not doing it yourself."

"I apologize, Honda-san," Sugoroku intervened on the teen's behalf, glancing apologetically at Anzu before he spoke. "He's been helping me keep Anzu calm, it's all been a bit of a nasty shock."

The huge man considered the tiny elder for a moment, eyes narrowed, then he half-bowed. "Mutou-Sensei, I assume."

"Indeed. You've raised a good lad."

"That I have." That brought a small, proud smile to the shipping company owner's face, though it faded quickly as he asked, "I assume that Jonouchi's behind all of this?"

The mood in the room dropped at the supposition, and the Mutou patriarch shook his head. "No, but he did save the life of my magomasume."

"So he is good for something." It was grumbled quietly, but Honda's hands still balled into fists, Anzu let out a quiet huff, and Sugoroku felt his anger rising at the jab to the young man who was trying to better himself.

Before anyone could say anything, however, Mazaki Yui swept back into the room. "Mutou-Sensei, I need your signature on some paperwork. Can I borrow you?"

"Certainly." He swept past the older Honda, hiding his irritation as he joined the woman in the corridor. "What can I help you with?"

"Kaiba Mokuba sent me with permission to get Mutou Yugi and Jonouchi Katsuya set up on the KC health insurance so their medical bills were covered," Mazaki explained. "Not that I wouldn't have come because my daughter told me she needed me, but…"

"I'll have to thank him," Sugoroku breathed, shocked.

"Yes, yes, you will." She handed him a folder. "That's not all I've been sent with."

He examined the files within, catching a letter addressed to his granddaughter as it fell, only for his eyes to widen in shock as it revealed a rather hefty offer from the Otogis to purchase the Kame Game Shop. An offer that was stamped with a bright red rejection, despite the offer being more than what the Mutous were paying for their mortgage.

The sheet behind it was a summation of what the Mutous had left to pay on the property, and he stumbled slightly as he realized that the final two years had been written off. The Kame Game Shop was theirs. For as long as they wanted it, or until Kaiba Corp bought them out, on the understanding that should they wish to move out of Domino, the property would be sold back to Kaiba Corp.

"Mutou-Sensei?" Mazaki asked, concerned as he reached for the reception desk to hold himself upright. "Are you alright?"

"Is this accurate?" Sugoroku asked, slightly breathless as he realized how much easier this would make their monthly outgoings and tried to comprehend how much money the Kaibas had just written off.

"Kaiba Mokuba-san explained that they owed Mutou Yugi for services rendered and insisted that I deliver that package to you." She nodded, relief evident as he regained his footing from the shock. "He said it was part of a payment for a debt owed to your magomasume. Apparently the rest will be dealt with later."

He just nodded, stunned that the Kaibas would turn down an offer on the Kame Game Shop of that size and wondering how they had known since he doubted that they often dealt directly with the sale and renting of the land in Domino City. He could not help but wonder if Mokuba had been alerted to it, but by whom and why?

"Was this the only thing?" he asked, tucking the envelope back into the folder for when Yugi was able to read it.

"No, I need you to sign the insurance paperwork for Mutou-chan and Jonouchi-kun so we can pay for their medical care." The sharp look she gave him told him clearly that this was something that she wanted set up as soon as possible, suggesting at some point Anzu had told her mother about how irresponsible Jonouchi's father actually was. She wanted some control over what was going on, so the drunkard could not just ditch his son and leave him stuck with the medical bills.

"I'm not Jonouchi's legal guardian, though," he reminded her, though it left a sour taste in his mouth to do so.

"No," Mazaki allowed, "but the wording on children's insurance is 'guardian,' not 'legal guardian,' and you have Kangoken, right?"

He nodded, hoping that his lawyer had the paperwork ready for him as promised. He was just signing on the dotted line on Yugi's paperwork when a huge man with dirty blonde hair and bloodshot brown eyes stalked in through the Accident and Emergency entrance and slammed his fist on the desk as he demanded, "Where is the little prick?"

"I'm sorry, sir." The receptionist was surprisingly calm as she was confronted by a furious man who stank of alcohol. "But you'll have to be more specific on which 'little prick' you mean."

"Jonouchi Katsuya, my musuko," Jonouchi Goro growled out, sliding an identity card across the desk to her to prove the kid was his son. "I got a call saying the little git's in here."

Sugoroku's teeth ground together in his irritation that this was the man that he was not allowed to adopt the blond from, as the receptionist did a double take and nodded. "Of course, sir, let me just call up his file."

"Jonouchi." Mazaki's cool demeanor startling Mutou. The drunkard wheeled around to glare at the speaker, only to let out an angry hiss.

"Mazaki. Here to help fire all the staff again?" the blond man snarled out, taking a step towards Anzu's mother.

"No. They're doing their job competently." The reply was cold and calculating and served to irritate the man further. "I'm actually here to save you money. Sign on the dotted line, and Kaiba Corp will pay his bills."

"Like they were supposed to pay Shizuka's before you helped Kaiba fire me?" Goro snarled out.

"You're the one who threw away the insurance by drinking away your job. You were given multiple warnings." Mazaki did not flinch. "We even offered to pay for Alcoholics Anonymous. You were the one who refused it and stole company equipment to sell for gambling money. Kaiba Corp had no reason to keep you on. It is a company after all, we can't keep dead weight."

Goro let out an angry snarl and took a step towards the attorney, hands balling into fists.

"Excuse me, sir?" the receptionist called, distracting him. "According to the notes on the system, it looks like he's being kept for observation, possibly for a couple of days, because of the smoke inhalation and his collapse. He's in room 217."

Jonouchi Goro grimaced, recognizing the hospital stay would cost him tens of thousands of yen, possibly more. He looked like he had sucked on a lemon as he looked at Mazaki. "You said Kaiba Corp's gunna cover it?"

"If you sign the paperwork, yes." Anzu's mother nodded.

"Why's he so important to your company?" The way Goro said company made it sound like he was saying 'dog shit'.

"Does it matter?" the lawyer asked, not entirely sure why her boss had insisted on covering Jonouchi's as well, and wondering if it was so the Mutous did not stretch their limited finances to help him. "Either you sign the insurance, or since you're his legal guardian, you're responsible for his medical bills."

There was a moment's hesitation, then the older Jonouchi huffed and signed the paperwork. "Whatever, he'd be paying for it any way. This way I don't have to chase him for it."

Doctor Mutou kept his thoughts to himself as he watched Mazaki collect up the signed sheets and hand them to the receptionist. Instead he turned to the woman and asked, "Is Jonouchi going to be okay?"

"He should be, with the right treatment." The receptionist nodded. "They don't have him down as an urgent case."

"Who are you?" Goro snapped, looking like he was sizing Mutou up for a fight. "And why do you care?"

"My name is Mutou Sugo…"

"You're the prick who's trying to steal my kid!" the drunkard snapped out, fury rising, recognizing the name from the paperwork that he had used as beer mats.

He swung for the Mutou, who ducked under the far-too-telegraphed attack. Within seconds the hospital security, who had been keeping an eye on the drunk, had pinned the man to the wall and were calling police.

Mutou and Mazaki backed off towards the waiting room, letting better-trained people handle the aggressive man. Mutou was shaking as he took a seat by the door, wishing that he were younger. In the old days he would have been able to take the man easily; nowadays, however, he would not stand a chance.

He turned to Mazaki, about to thank her for her assistance and apologize for setting him off, when Honda's father spoke up.

"Mutou-san, I know Hiroto wants to stay until there's news, but he has school in the morning, so I'm taking him home," he explained, glancing out the door before grimacing, "once that mess outside is settled."

"I need to do the same with Anzu." Mazaki Yui frowned at the suddenly stubborn set of Anzu's stance. "If I give you our home number, could you keep us informed when there's news?"

"Of course." Doctor Mutou could see neither Honda nor Anzu wanted to leave, but he could understand their parents' perspectives. It was, after all, getting to be nearly midnight, and if Yugi had been able to go home, he would have been trying to insist, too.

He was just starting to write the phone numbers down when a Doctor entered the room. "Mutou Yugi's family?"

"Here." Sugoroku nodded. "I'm Yugi's Ojiisan."

The doctor nodded. "Right now, Mutou-Chan is resting. Surgery went well, and we will be keeping her under for a few days while she recovers. Once she's been woken up, we can allow more guests," the Doctor explained. Yugi's friends let out a disappointed sigh, but when Mutou gave them a sharp look, they backed up, willing to visit later.

"Can I see her now?" he asked, expecting to be rejected because of the time of night.

"Only for five minutes," the doctor stated. "Visiting hours are long over, but I understand your needing to see her before you leave."

"Thank you." Mutou bowed before turning to Mazaki Yui. "Thank the Kaibas for me, please?"

"Of course, Mutou-sensei," the woman promised with a relieved smile. "I'll explain what we found out about Jonouchi, too."

He nodded, thankful to have the assistance of a sane, polite adult, and followed the Doctor out to the private room that Kaiba Corp's payment scheme earned the most important person in his life, listening the whole way to the Doctor's explanations. Walking into the room was hard as he had to behold the machinery hooked up to his granddaughter.

He sat next to her bed, taking one hand in his as he listened to the steady beep of the heart monitor and the steady puffs of the ventilator that was helping Yugi's smoke-damaged lungs get enough oxygen. The tube going down her throat also prevented the swelling from the bruising and the surgery to repair her damaged larynx from blocking her airways. The three IV bags connected to the tube that went into the back of his granddaughter's hand were full of clear liquid, which reassured Sugoroku, since he had been warned that her head had been bleeding when she was carried out of the building.

"She's going to be under for at least a week," the Doctor explained as Sugoroku took a shaky breath, "possibly more. This one is antibiotics." He tapped one bag. "And these two combine painkillers and sedatives. Between the three of them she's not suffering at all. We should be able to remove the tube by this time next week if she stays under so her body can focus on healing. She'll probably be in for a couple of weeks so we can keep an eye on her throat and lungs, and then she'll possibly need home rest for a few weeks afterwards, depending on recovery speed."

"What about the head injury?" he asked, trembling slightly.

"There's minor swelling on the brain, most likely from a severe impact to the head, which is part of why we want to keep her under, but with the right amount of rest, she should recover," the doctor promised.

"That's… that's good," he breathed, aware of how serious a head injury could be and not entirely reassured by only 'minor' swelling.

"If you stay here for a moment, I will give you a letter to give in to her school for her hospital stay." When the older Mutou nodded, the Doctor bowed. "I'll be back with that in a bit, but then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

When the store owner did not fight him on that, the Doctor left to get the letter.

Sugoroku sighed as he slipped the chain of the Puzzle over his head and carefully used the box of tissues on Yugi's bedside table, combined with the alcohol hand gel by the door, to carefully clean off any remaining ash from the golden artefact.

"Your friends are worried. Please rest well and come back to us soon." He spoke softly to the unconscious girl as he unhooked the chain so he could slip it around his granddaughter's neck, being careful not to irritate the bruising.

Almost instantly the Puzzle glowed as it reconnected with its true holder.

Within seconds a spectral, older version of his granddaughter emerged from the item and froze as she stared at the figure on the bed. Jii-san could see the Pharaoh's expression twist with fear and worry, hands shaking as she sat on the bed, putting one spectral hand on the living girl's wrist. Her gaze did not falter for a moment as she watched her Imoto's chest rise and fall, as if all she could focus on was that her twin was alive.

This was not the first time Sugoroku had seen Meisa. When he had recovered the Millennium Puzzle from the Pharaoh's tomb, he had gotten shot by his guide and been saved by the spirit within the tomb. Since then he had been able to see the ghosts that walked the world around him, so he had seen when the darker of his granddaughters had been roaming the house as a specter.

It was the first time she had completely blanked him, though. Not that he could blame her.

"Meisa." At the sound of her name, the Spirit of the Puzzle startled and turned her gaze towards him. "The Doctors say she's going to be okay. It's going to take a few weeks, and she needs to sleep for a while, but she'll be okay."

The sheer relief on her face was confirmation that she had been terrified about her twin's condition. Then guilt passed through the Pharaoh's expression as she said something, clearly not expecting to be heard.

Mutou paused as he thought he heard a quiet whisper, but it was so low he could not quite catch it. Since it was more than he had been able to hear before his soul had been drenched in the Shadows via Crawford's foray into soul stealing, he tilted his head and asked, "Sorry, try that again?"

Meisa watched him for a moment, wondering if he really had nearly heard her, then she reached out with her magic, which swirled around him as she spoke again, this time a little louder. "I'm sorry, Jii-san."

The Shadows connecting them carried the whisper to him, but it was not what he was expecting in the slightest, and he stared at her briefly before shaking his head. "You're not at fault, Meisa. You can't control what happens when the Puzzle is in pieces."

The Pharaoh sighed, her shoulders sinking, thankful that she was not being blamed for not being able to help her twin, but still feeling guilty. He watched as the spirit ran a hand through her twin's hair, concern and care clear on her face.

"She was so brave." Meisa spoke again, her even tone hiding the fear and concern bottled up inside, kind of relieved to have someone who could both see and hear her. Anzu had been able to see her, but not hear her, so the combination was a huge relief because it meant that she was not alone. "I couldn't… Zorc was there, and… but she didn't back down. She gave me the strength to fight. And now…"

"She'll be okay. The body's being kept under using medication so her head, throat, and lungs can heal properly." Her Jii-san grimaced, making a note to talk to the Ring's Bearer and find out exactly what had happened and why. "It's called prolonged anaesthesia; she can't wake till they take her off the drugs. You're not going to lose her."

The Pharaoh's gaze turned towards the floor, relieved by the news but still displeased with her actions. She had not been there to prevent most of the damage, but if she had not attempted to get Bakura's attention, or if she had managed to get free of Zorc's grasp faster, her twin might not be in such a bad way.

Both of the conscious occupants of the room were momentarily alarmed as the door opened again, allowing the doctor entry to the room. The man's brow furrowed as he saw the Puzzle in its rightful place. "That can't stay there."

Meisa opened her mouth to object, only to close it again when she remembered that the Doctor could not hear her.

"I've cleaned it down with alcohol gel, if that helps?" Mutou offered, noting that from the expression of the doctor that it did not. "It's incredibly important to her. She'll rest easier if it's with her."

"Right now, a bomb could go off and she wouldn't know about it," the doctor scolded as he handed Sugoroku the letter for Yugi's school. "She can't heal properly if that chain is resting against the bruises on her neck."

That made the elderly man flinch and the Pharaoh pause and close her eyes.

She wanted to be here in case her twin needed her. Especially when she did not know where the Ring was, or if the Thief Queen was here in the hospital. However, there was not much she could do while her twin was being kept unconscious, and staying in a position where she could help would hurt her light-souled sister further, which was something she absolutely did not want to do.

She let out a soft, unhappy sigh before looking at her Jii-san, hoping she was making the right decision. "Take it. I don't want to hurt her."

Doctor Mutou nodded, more to the comment than the doctor. "I'll take it home with me."

The man nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. "By next weekend she'll be awake enough for it to make a difference. It's just a few days. That's all. Then she can hold it, or keep it by her bed, but I don't want something that expensive left unattended while she's out cold and there's no one around."

A few days. She could manage a few days of silence, the Pharaoh tried to convince herself as her grandfather thanked the man for his concern, able to see the logic behind his request.

Sugoroku subtly nodded to Meisa as he reached over to undo the chain. He knew she did not want to leave her twin but was pleased that she was willing to manage without Yugi for a few days.

"It'll be okay," he promised in a whisper as he took the Puzzle off and the girl was sent back to the Puzzle.

"I'll give you the direct line to the nurses' station on this floor, so you can find out when she's going to be woken up. Then you can be here, okay?" the doctor offered.

"Thank you." The elderly man smiled as he re-clipped the chain shut and slipped it over his own head, mentally promising his older granddaughter that if he had his way, there were not going to be too many moments over the next few days where she would be alone, and then headed back to the reception desk, hoping that the elder Jonouchi's outburst would allow him to put his phone number on Katsuya's records so they could ring him, rather than Goro.

He had no idea how much that promise meant to his granddaughter.

* * *

Amane managed to stumble through her front door and lock it behind her before she collapsed to the floor.

She should have gone to the hospital. She knew she should have. She hurt all over and her smoke-damaged lungs hated her passionately. Without magical or medical treatment, she knew she and Yugi were in serious trouble, but she had spent too much of her own energy to use a healing spell to fix herself or her friend up, meaning the doctors were their best chance.

And unlike Yugi, who was currently in the care of the medics, Amane could not go to hospital.

The Thief Queen's spells had kept her neighbours and landlord from looking too closely at her current situation, but at the hospital they would want to ring her legal guardians.

And she did not have any.

Her mother had died years ago in a car crash that had killed both her and Amane's little brother, Ryou, and her father's death at the hands of the Millennium Ring had left her an orphan. The 'parents' the school thought she had were just illusions that Ba-Khu-Ra had conjured in order to get her into school. There was no family she could turn to. No one whose name and number she could give the authorities when they wanted to speak to a responsible adult.

Amane did not want to end up in the system. She could not afford for people to look too closely into her home life and question where all the money and items she had had come from, or she would end up in juvenile detention rather than an orphanage, so she needed to treat herself and not let anyone see when she was hurting.

It was better this way.

At least that was what she tried to tell herself as she sobbed out the fear, anger, and pain she had been desperately trying to suppress since her capture, hands clamped over her mouth to muffle the noise, even though there was no one around to hear her. The silence of the residence just made the situation worse as the feelings of complete loneliness, helplessness, and emptiness overwhelmed her.

She did not want to be alone anymore. Did not want to come home to an empty house. To have no one at home who missed her. To be completely and utterly alone when she needed comfort.

But there was no other way. Today had proved something. No matter how much she wanted to be Yugi's friend, no matter how much the other girl risked to help her and stand by her side, she would never, ever be able to trust the Puzzle Bearer's safety around the Spirit of the Ring, or the demon they were bound to.

And that meant that the one person she could have gone to, the one person who might have understood because her parents were no longer around, the one person whose family might have at least allowed her to sleep over regularly, even if they could not take her in officially, was off limits because Amane did not want to wake up one morning to find she had killed a friend.

Once she had run out of tears and all the emotions she had been releasing had died down to a safe, protective numbness, she fired off a text to Honda. Once she had let him know she had gotten home safely and thanked him for pulling her out of the fire, she forced herself to her feet, every muscle aching as she pushed through the complete and total exhaustion to get herself something to eat, an energy drink, and some painkillers.

As she pulled out the ingredients to make a sandwich, she paused as she realized that there was red on her hands. Her mind flickered back to the feel of her hands wrapped around her friend's throat, how she had been able to feel Yugi's life ebbing away in the demon's grasp and how the back of Yugi's neck had felt wet…

The red mark was her friend's blood.

She practically threw the ingredients aside and dashed for the sink, scrubbing with dish soap and water until her hands were sore and pink. Then she sank to her knees on the floor, tears beginning to build again as all the emotions came rushing back and overwhelmed her.

A knife, possibly knocked off balance when she had tossed the dish soap bottle to one side, clattered to the floor next to her, catching her attention.

She should end it. It would protect her friends and end her own suffering. Just a couple of cuts and it would be over.

She would be free from the pain that was her life.

Free from the demon that hurt her whenever she dared to resist him, despite Ba-Khu-Ra's attempts to protect her.

Free from having to pay for the actions of others.

Free from the knowledge that one day either she would kill her friend or her friend would have to destroy her soul.

Free to join her family in the afterlife.

She would not be alone anymore…

She picked up the sharp implement, pressing the blade to her wrist for a moment.

Then the sharp sensation of pain as the tip pierced the skin brought her back to her senses.

Even if she died, the Spirit of the Ring would still be inside the Millennium Ring, as would the demon. They would just find another host, and there was no guarantee that the next one would be able to stand up to them like she could. If she died, she would be unable to keep protecting those she cared about.

And in all truth, she was not ready to die.

She set the knife down and wiped the blood away, staggering to her feet and pulling out a band-aid from the cupboard, putting it over the tiny cut before stumbling back to the fridge and pulling out the ingredients once again, knowing that she would feel more stable once she had gotten food and sugar in her system.

She was ravenous and terribly thirsty, thanks to the Otogis. All she had eaten since breakfast yesterday was a bowl of cereal, and all she had had to drink was a glass of milk and the bottle of water that Otogi had left her.

Once she had eaten and drank, she could get some sleep and then, in the morning, she could heal herself up and it would all be okay.

At least that was the lie she told herself as she started prepping her meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Ao3 Readers!!!
> 
> I got an awesome ficlet from my Secret Santa for Christmas this year, if you want some wonderful fluff, please check it out here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28310097


	15. Next Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: References suicidal thoughts

"Alright, thank you, Mazaki, keep us updated the moment you hear anything." Mokuba nodded subconsciously as he finished writing down everything he had needed from the attorney. "Yes, I've gotten it all. I'll make sure it's all in her file with medical."

His older brother's eyes looked up from the technology he was working on as his brother paused, wondering what else the woman they had sent had to say.

"I'll pass on his thanks to Oniisan. Good night, Mazaki. Feel free to start an hour later tomorrow." With that the younger Kaiba put the phone down and smiled ruefully at his brother. "Apparently Mutou-Sensei says thank you."

Seto just snorted. He had the mutt to thank more than him. If Jonouchi had not let the CEO know that someone was threatening to buy out the Mutous, he would not have known to check with the city planners and get the purchase rejected. Everything else he had done was simply so he could keep an eye on his greatest rivals and avoid having to hunt them across Japan if the Mutous had been forced to move by the purchase.

Since Kaiba Corp owned Domino City, as it had built up around the workers who lived on site during its life as a weapons manufacturer, and the company owned the land it was built on, writing off the debt was something he could easily do.

It was certainly less troublesome to write off the last of the mortgage debt to the Mutous so they would stay in Domino where he could watch them than to run the risk of losing access to the pair who had defeated him soundly and never get to challenge them or reclaim his pride ever again.

"Mazaki got those details you wanted for Yugi's file," Mokuba continued, noting the expression on his brother's face.

"Good." Seto huffed, turning his eyes back to the GPS parts he was tinkering with, preparing it to be included in a trial tracker to ensure it worked before he moved forward with implementing them in the second edition of the Duel Disk, and trying to ignore the relief that was bothering him. "I don't have time to waste with complaints from the medical department. Do they have any idea when she's going to be out of the hospital?"

"Probably two weeks, but she'll be on rest for another couple according to the doctors?" his little brother offered, not entirely sure since Doctor Mutou had not been certain on the timings. "Mazaki spoke to Mutou on his way out, and it sounded pretty bad."

"Which gives me time to perfect the coding on this. Plenty of it." The CEO nodded, thinking out loud as he called up a website and scanned through the jeweled items on screen, looking for something he could use as a case. "And by the time they're back at full strength, I'll be ready to challenge them with the Duel Disk."

Mokuba had to hide an amused grin, aware that his brother was rather obsessed with the Queen of Games.

Well, more specifically both Queens of Games and the way that both girls had managed to defeat him in Duel Monsters, something that no one before them had ever managed.

If it were anyone else, he would have accused them of having a crush, but he knew his brother better than that.

Seto had his pride to win back and his World Champion title to reclaim.

* * *

Sugoroku relaxed as he kicked off his shoes, having finally gotten home after an absolutely awful evening, herding Otogi Ryuji towards the stairs, wanting nothing more than to go to bed, but fully aware that he had one more thing he needed to do.

The Puzzle hung from a chain around his neck, and he had no plans to take it off until he went to bed, not wanting to leave his other granddaughter on her own unless he had to. That and while he was hoping Otogi was willing to start fresh, he was not willing to risk Meisa's safety by leaving the golden treasure where the teen could get his hands on it.

"Otogi?" Sugoroku called, having been thinking on the way back from the hospital. When the teen looked back over his shoulder, the elderly man smiled. "Before we sleep, I have a business opportunity for you. If you're interested?"

Ryuji paused, then slumped down into a chair with a nod.

"You were going to launch a new game soon, weren't you?" the elderly gamer asked, having remembered the signs in the windows of the Black Clown and taking a seat on the sofa. "Do still have the stock available?"

Ryuji grimaced slightly. "I have the pre-orders and half the stock I wanted on my shelves still in my storage unit; the rest was in the warehouse at the Black Clown. I don't have enough money to get any more made until I sell about half of what I have now, but I have no ability to distribute because my shop front is gone."

Sugoroku nodded, thinking. "I have an offer for you. If you help me clear out space in the storage room and basement, I can act as a distributer for you. I'll mark it up at a decent price; depending on the figures you give me, I'll take half the profit and you'll take the other half so we're both making money on it, and once you've got a larger supply, we'll talk to some of the local stores and try to get them to stock the game for you. We'll discuss further figures once we're distributing to other stores."

The game designer paused to consider his offer. It was not an unreasonable one. Making room for stock in the shop downstairs would allow the Kame Game Shop to sell Dungeon Dice Monsters and give him an income, rather than leaving him reliant on his Otosan's funds becoming available.

He needed to know, though. "Why would you help me like this?"

"Because I'm not stupid enough to turn down a business opportunity like this." He really was not, the amount of funds that the new game would bring in, especially considering he would be the only seller to start with, would pay for the staff member he was going to have to hire to replace the student who had left and cover for Yugi while she was incapacitated and Katsuya until he had recovered. "And you don't deserve to have your future ruined because your Otosan was an ass."

"I…" Ryuji trailed off. If he was smart, he would admit nothing and take the deal. If he was lucky, Yugi's head injury would prevent her from remembering his fear-driven threats, and he could escape retribution and start over. However, guilt was eating away at him. Everything that had happened over the last few days had been started by him, and he was not as innocent in events as he wanted others to believe. Plus if it came out after deals had been made, everything could fall apart again.

This had been started by lies and trickery. It needed to end with truth.

"Otogi?" The curious head tilt from the elderly Game Master told Ryuji that Mutou knew something was wrong.

"I… I need to be honest with you. Before we make any deals," the Game Designer started. "I… I'm the one who paid those muggers to jump Yugi. I told them they could keep any money she had on her, plus the ten thousand I was paying them, if they got me the Puzzle."

Sugoroku's eyes narrowed, but he did not do more than listen.

"When that didn't work, I threatened Jonouchi so he would pull away from Yugi while he was trying to work out how to deal with me and deliberately implied that I was interested in your magomasume to make other girls jealous. I implied that the only thing between me and the other girl was Yugi, so they would bully her and I could swoop in and look like a hero because her usual guardian was avoiding her. I thought it would make Yugi listen to me. I wasn't expecting them to shove her down the stairs, but I did take advantage of the situation to grab a piece of the Puzzle, so Yugi would freak out when she found it missing and I would look good when I returned it."

The flat expression and dead silence made Ryuji shudder.

"I swear I was planning to try and get Yugi on my side so Otousan wouldn't hurt her like he hits me, but the thing with Bakura got out of hand, then Yugi confronted me and threatened to call the cops, and… I panicked." His hands balled into fists as he gazed at the ground. "I threatened the safety of you and her friends so she would shut up and listen. Even threatened to destroy the Puzzle piece I had stolen. I told her if she came alone and kept quiet, you'd all be safe…"

"And she walked right into your Otosan's trap." The ice in the voice of the elderly gamer was sharp.

"When I started all of this, I thought Otousan was right. You had stolen years of life from him, so it was only right we took our chance to fix it." Otogi breathed, "But once everything was in motion it was too much. It felt wrong to keep hurting those who weren't really involved… so I gave Yugi a chance to free her friend. I couldn't do anything directly. I couldn't. Not when Otousan controls all my finances, my home, and my life, but she took that chance and…"

"Your Otousan hurt her because of it." Quiet consideration emerged as the old man sat back.

"I don't know what happened or why Otousan's ritual room caught fire, but Yugi is in hospital because of me, and," he gulped, expecting to be kicked out onto the street, "I felt you had the right to know before you and I made any deals. I'm not a victim in this, and I don't deserve to be treated like one."

Silence fell as Sugoroku thought through what he had been told. That Otogi had done so much to hurt Yugi infuriated him, and part of him wanted to throw the boy out and refuse to let him ever come within sixty miles of him and his granddaughter.

However, Ryuji was wrong about one thing. While he was complicit in what had happened, he was a victim. He had been raised by an angry, controlling, abusive man who wanted his revenge and did not care who got hurt in the meantime. Even with that upbringing he had, still he had managed to see that what was happening was wrong. He had tried to help in his own way, and what happened after the doors had sealed was not his fault.

Still…

"And if you had the same choices now?" Sugoroku asked, watching the teen carefully.

"What Otosan was doing, what I did?" Ryuji's voice wavered. "It was wrong and I regret it. I regret it a lot. I never meant for Yugi or Jonouchi to end up in hospital. I never wanted Bakura to get hurt. I wouldn't let Otousan hurt them. Even if it meant I got injured in their place. I can't honestly say more than that."

"Thank you for being honest with me." The old man nodded, silently wanting to hug the boy who looked so upset and defeated. "Yes, this does change some things. For example I expect you to bring all business matters through me from now on, not Yugi, but I'm not going to retract my offer. You know what you did was wrong, and if this cycle of pain and revenge doesn't stop now, it will only worsen. I will not harm the future of a child for the lessons they were taught by their Otousan."

"Th… thank you." Ryuji breathed, stunned, "We can discuss percentages once I get a list of costs sorted again. The last melted with my computer. Are you willing to assist in pre-order distribution?"

"How much is postal and how much is pick-up?" Sugoroku frowned, wondering if that money had already been taken and where it had gone and if he was making the right choice.

"It's all pick-up and pay on receipt," Otogi reassured him. "Those prices are set already, at 20% mark-up from production costs, except the boards, which are up by 50%."

"Is the release date fixed?" Sugoroku suddenly grimaced, wondering if he would have enough hands in the store.

"No, but I was aiming for next Saturday." Otogi shrugged, having planned to have crushed Yugi in his final beta test and fixed any issues with the game by then, and now realizing that left extraordinarily little time for his new business partner to prepare.

"So, I've got a week and a half to hire a new staff member." Sugoroku scowled.

"If it helps, I'd be willing to work, no cost, on launch weekend," Otogi offered, wanting his launch to be a success.

"It does." He saw the elderly Game Master relax a little. "It gives me a little more time. I'm still going to put the job application out there tomorrow morning."

"I assume this comes with the caveat of if I do anything to harm Yugi, or her friends, you'll stop stocking my game?" Ryuji asked, tapping his foot as he realized that he did not have the money to pay his usual lawyer anymore and would have to go through any contract with Doctor Mutou himself.

"That was going to be in the contract, yes," the former archaeologist agreed, "and you'll lose the assistance I was going to give you regarding getting other stores to stock your game."

Ryuji nodded, unsurprised.

"We'll start on the storeroom and basement before school tomorrow and move the stock in the day after. That way we'll have everything in place before launch day," the elderly man informed Otogi. "We can work out contract details once we've both slept and can think straight."

"That sounds good."

* * *

Sleep had not come easily to the Bearer of the Millennium Ring, but she had managed to get a few hours at least, and Amane tried to ignore the ringing of her phone as she fished a bottle of water out of her fridge the following morning.

She knew who it was. The school would be trying to reach her in order to find out why she was not attending today.

She just did not have the energy to deal with it right now. Despite the healing spell she had cast on herself upon waking, she could not handle dealing with other teenagers or the school who gave so little care to their students.

Especially when going to school would mean answering Honda and Anzu's questions about what had happened last night.

It was that more than anything that was preventing her from going. She did not really want to stay inside the house by herself, but the thought of going to school and having to explain everything was too much for her. She did not have the mental fortitude to deal with the upset and disappointment in her that would accompany it.

She was surprised that the demon had not yet lashed out at her, like he had after she had screwed up the victory in the table top game. Wondering if it had seen her breakdown last night as punishment enough, she let out a relieved breath as the phone stopped ringing and settled down to paint some of the Monster World figurines she had spread out across her dining table.

It was nearly an hour before she sensed the Thief Queen beginning to wake up enough to keep an eye on her safety; she hesitantly sent a mental nudge, trying not to wince away when the Spirit of the Ring sent an irritated grumble in reply.

 _'What, landlord?'_ the other soul demanded, displeased with having to wake up fully so quickly.

 _'What… what happened yesterday? In the fire?'_ At the Ring Bearer's slightly scared question, the Spirit paused and emerged from the item to sit on the table, her expression uncomfortable.

 _'I'll admit, I let my emotions overwhelm me.'_ The Thief Queen's voice was more shaky than Amane had ever heard it before. _'And I shouldn't have done. I'm sorry.'_

Amane could not help but stare at her darker self at the apology for a few moments, then she lowered her head, remembering that the Spirit of the Ring did, in fact, care for her, even if the way she showed it was quite twisted sometimes. _'If I told you that you weren't in control of your actions, would that surprise you?'_

The thief's head snapped up and her gaze turned considering, pursing her lips as she thought. _'No, it wouldn't. My half of our soul is so twisted up in Zorc's power now that I basically belong to him. If he wants something, I can't stop him, and I don't always want to.'_

Amane nearly asked which it had been when the demon had hurt her last, but decided that she already knew the answer. The Spirit of the Ring might be an utter cow at times, but she did like Amane. It was highly unlikely that she wanted her host hurt.

 _‘He was so afraid that the Puzzle and Ring were going to be destroyed, he lashed out in a way he hasn't done in centuries,'_ the Thief Queen continued as she stretched. _'He might try to push me to attack whenever there's an opening, like after Yugi's little trip down the stairs, but he doesn't push for control like that unless… well, we're no good to him dead, and he'll lose strength if parts of his soul are destroyed. How did we get out of there?'_

The Ring Bearer's eyes widened as she felt her other self rummage around her memories, trying to find out what had happened after she had lost control of herself, and the Thief's light tried to hide the meltdown last night from her dark.

Unfortunately for her she was too slow and she felt Ba-Khu-Ra mentally stall. The spirit went still as a rock where she was sat on the table, expression shifting from anger to terror and then vanishing entirely as she watched Amane with a blank expression.

 _'I didn't realize you had so low an opinion of me that you'd consider killing yourself to be free of me.'_ Amane gulped at the completely flat, emotionless tone.

 _'I was… I was in a bad place,'_ the Ring Bearer offered. _'I wouldn't do it. You saw I wouldn't do it.'_

There was silence as the Thief Queen replayed the memory once and then twice, examining the emotions and actions. Amane had to hold on to the table as the emotions from it flashed through her again and again. Then she felt anger seep into her dark's sentiments and saw the spirit's hands ball into fists.

 _'If I show you something, will you promise not to try that again of your own free will and let me know if you feel like that again?'_ The spirit's question confused the living half of their soul, but she nodded.

_'S…sure…'_

The Thief Queen took Amane's hand, opened her senses to her host and replayed the memory, step by step, pausing at the exact moment the knife had fallen from the dish rack to the floor.

Through her dark's senses she could feel that it was wrapped in Shadows. Shadows that had also entwined her in their grasp, flooding her with her own upset and pain, her swirling thoughts allowing them to seep into her and guide her to pick up the blade.

 _'Zorc… was encouraging me to…?!'_ Amane trailed off with a squeak, eyes wide.

 _'Yes,'_ Ba-Khu-Ra hissed out _, 'but the emotions he used to do it were your own. I belong to him, so he can force me to act for him, but he can't directly create the drive to act in anyone else, only whisper a suggestion and multiply the emotions connected to an action. The thoughts behind the action are entirely your own. Once you want to do what he wants you to do, that's when he can get in, take control, and ensure you do it.'_

As the moment of history played on, Amane got to see the exact second the demon lost its grip on her. The physical pain had cut through the emotional anguish and kicked in her survival drive, bringing her back to her senses as blood seeped through the small cut.

 _'The demon said something about the seal breaking…'_ Amane swallowed hard, trying to change the subject, _'when Yugi was fading.'_

 _'The Seal on the Shadows has been weakening for millennia.'_ Ba-Khu-Ra paused to check it was safe to talk. When she sensed the demon was asleep, she let out a soft sigh. _'I can't let it break before I get my people through the Gates to the Afterlife, or this world will end before I can help them.'_

 _'What do you…'_ The Ring Bearer's eyes widened as she realized where her dark was going. _'Yugi's ancient true name is the key… It would be like opening the door properly verses breaking it down with a battering ram.'_

 _'Exactly. If I get her ancient name, I'll be able to control what comes out of the Shadows. If the Seal shatters, then everything that's been trapped there will break loose and destroy everything.'_ The Thief Queen nodded, still pacing. _'But it looks like Zorc wants the latter.'_

 _'I'll try and stop him so you can free your people, but…'_ Amane flinched as memories of past punishment rushed through her mind.

 _'It means you're not safe…'_ Ba-Khu-Ra sounded angry and full of pain about that fact, assuring her that the Thief Queen did, in fact, want her around and really did like her. _'I like and need you, we're stronger than we've ever been, and you're still not safe from him.'_

 _'I never have been safe, sister, you know that.'_ Calling the Thief Queen 'sister' made the spirit stare at her, but it felt natural.

 _'I know.'_ The rawness of the Thief Queen's tone made Amane wonder how much of the punishment she had taken was to put Ba-Khu-Ra in her place as much as to make the Ring Bearer behave. _'I'm sorry…'_

 _'I know… So how do we make sure he doesn't get a chance to try what he did last night again? Because if he's that fed up of my interference…'_ The Game Master trailed off, but her other self knew where she was going with it.

 _'It was loneliness and the whole Otogi mess that allowed him to drive you to that point.'_ The Thief Queen was still pacing as she tried to think. _'I would urge you to see the Runt more because she makes you happy, but I can't prevent him from controlling me, I'm too tied to him now. It would require magic to separate me from him, and even then it might not work because I signed a contract with him. If there's another opening I can't promise I won't take it.'_

 _'And it's not like I can just take off the Ring because it teleports back to me if I leave it unattended.'_ Amane paused at the look on her dark's face. _'What?'_

 _'It does that because I will it,'_ the Thief Queen admitted, _'but… I think I can trust your safety around the Runt. She got herself badly hurt trying to help us after all, and we're stronger than her… so as long as the Ring was near enough to you that I could sense if you needed me, I would be willing to… to let you hang around with your friends without me if it will stop you from trying that stunt again.'_

Amane let out a soft breath, understanding how hard that offer was for Ba-Khu-Ra. If she was not wearing the Ring, the Thief Queen was trapped inside the item and could not interact with anyone. She was offering to be trapped around someone she considered an adversary, if it would give her host what she needed.

 _'You're sure?'_ the Ring Bearer asked, checking that this was really what her other self was okay with her doing.

 _'I can't lose any more family, Sen, I just can't.'_ Ba-Khu-Ra's voice was raw with pain as she used the Ancient Egyptian for sister. _'I would rather withdraw a little than risk your safety.'_

Amane paused for just a moment, then she got to her feet and actually hugged the other girl, who froze, shocked at receiving the first hug she had been given in five thousand years.

 _'I promise, I'll keep the Ring with me at all times, close enough that if I'm in danger you can come to me,'_ Amane swore as she kept up the hug, able to feel her sister's spectral arms wrap around her _. 'And I actually wanted to know something else…'_

 _'Oh?'_ the Thief Queen asked as she pulled away, dusting herself off like she had not needed the hug.

 _'I was wondering if you'd teach me to use Shadow magic properly.'_ The startled reaction that Ba-Khu-Ra gave her made her chuckle. _'I've picked some up from you, but it took me far too long to cast a healing spell this morning. It's about time I learned how to do this properly. After all, it's my item, too.'_

The Spirit of the Ring considered the other girl, the girl she was taking a risk on by considering her a sister, wondering whether she really wanted to learn magic or she was just offering an olive branch in exchange for her offer.

 _'Sure.'_ The Thief Queen decided she did not care. _'We can start today, if you like. That way you'll be miles ahead of the Runt when she gets out of hospital.'_

_'That sounds good.'_

* * *

Sugoroku sighed as he put the 'hiring' signs up in the window mid-morning.

He hated hiring new people.

Interviews were always interesting. Generally, he had people from the local area applying. Sometimes they were regular customers too, so he knew them rather well. What he hated, however, was having to turn down excited, enthusiastic applicants because either he had filled the role or they just were not suitable for the job.

Still, between Yugi and Katsuya's hospitalization, the upcoming Dungeon Dice Monsters release, and the part-time student worker leaving, he did not have a choice. He needed a new hand in the shop, and that meant going through the interview process.

School had not long ended when a teenage boy with purple eyes and ash blonde hair that was almost as long as Bakura's walked in, holding a folder and looking nervous as he approached the counter.

Doctor Mutou looked the boy up and down, noting the white hooded top and brown trousers covering dark Arabic skin and the golden earrings at the teen's ears as he wondered what he wanted.

"Hello." His Japanese was accented but clear as the boy politely bowed. "I saw you were hiring and I wanted to apply. I brought my CV, my Right to Work, and my ID with me."

The elderly gamer paused to consider the teen, who was according to his ID a couple of years older than his Yugi. He did not normally accept workers around his granddaughter's age because he did not want there to be any friction between his staff and his household, but this boy was prepared, had legitimate Right to Work paperwork, and, he saw as he looked through the documentation, the teen had a decent amount of experience in shops. He would not need much training to be able to help when the store was insanely busy on launch weekend.

"Do you have time for an interview now?" Sugoroku asked the teen, who smiled brightly.

"Certainly. I need to start as soon as possible to pay for school, so the sooner I can interview the better."

That tugged at the heartstrings, considering the financial state of certain members of his household, and Sugoroku decided he was going to try and help the boy if he could.

"Okay… Namu-san." He looked down at the paperwork to find the boy's name. "Please, take a seat and we'll see if you're suitable for the job."

An hour later Namu walked out of the store, a huge grin on his face as he pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialed a number once he was far enough away from the store for it to be safe.

"Ishizu? Yes, you were right. It's here, and I think we got here first. Thank Rishid for me. The paperwork he forged got me in. That's right, I've got a job."


End file.
